Find the Light
by Imidgery
Summary: "It's easier to run replacing this pain with something numb. It's so much easier to go. Than face all this pain here all alone." -Linkin Park, Easier to Run Years after high school, a chance meeting changes two lives forever. This is an ArnoldXHelga fanfic. Rated teen for suggested drug use. If I need to change the rating I will. Arnold and Helga do not belong to me.
1. Chapter 1

Arnold waved goodbye to the nurse in the front office. He stepped outside and stared up at the sky for a moment, a pleased sigh escaping his lips as he closed his eyes. Everything was going so well for him this year. He really enjoyed interning at the city hospital while he was studying in college. He was 22 and was already creating a name for himself in the world of medicine. He had been given special permission to assist in minor surgeries that took place in their hospital and was also able to sit in on the more major surgeries. He dipped his hands in the pockets of his scrubs as he headed towards the boarding house.

He still lived in the boarding house with new tenants. Unfortunately, his grandparents were both deceased. Grandma was lost to breast cancer a few years back, and grandpa died not too soon after, they said from a broken heart. It was hard for Arnold to cope, but he soon realized that they were together in a better place. Not to mention, his grandparents made sure he'd be well off in their passing, leaving the boarding house in his name and a hefty amount of money for his schooling and miscellaneous things.

He was lost in thought when he suddenly bumped into a young woman. Since Arnold was a bit built from his daily trips to the gym, the woman bounced off of him like a bouncy ball. She hit the ground with a small thump.

"Oh miss, I'm so sorry!" Arnold rushed to her side and lifted her up gently by her arm so she could stand. She felt very frail in his gentle grip. It felt like one wrong move and her arm would snap. The woman looked up at him, flipping her blonde hair in a huff of frustration. "Oh no, it's fine really, I just love being knocked over by people who don't pay attention to where they're going." She said sarcastically. That voice sounded so familiar. They finally made eye contact and they both seemed stunned to see each other after all these years.

"…Helga?" Arnold asked hesitantly. Helga seemed even more shocked than he was. She looked around slightly, trying to think of something witty to say, but she looked so tired. "What of it, football head?" She said harshly.

Arnold rolled his eyes. He hadn't heard that name in seven years, since their freshmen year of high school. "All these years and you're still so mean Helga." He said, almost disappointed.

Helga almost felt ashamed. "…Yeah…sorry Arnold…" She said, a little more quietly. Arnold was caught off guard by that last sentence. Did Helga just apologize? He looked down at her; he had grown quite a bit since they last saw each other. "It's alright Helga. Hey, why don't I make this up to you and take you to get a coffee together? My treat?" He asked.

Helga looked up at him, searching his eyes a moment. Then nodded. "Sure, I need a good pick me up." She said, forcing a small smile. Arnold looked at her again, before smiling. Something seemed off with her. They began walking to the shop and after an awkward silence; they reached the shop and ordered their coffee. They both sat down across from each other. Helga was clutching her coffee close to her, staring at the brown liquid swirling around in the cup.

Arnold, trying to find something to talk about, coughed slightly before speaking. "So, how's everything going? I haven't seen you since freshmen year."

Helga looked sad at that last comment. "Things are going, I guess." Her eyes shut for a second and she sighed. "Bob and Miriam decided to move right after I finished freshman year and I had no choice but to go, because Olga was too busy with her damn husband to take me in." There was an etch of ice in her voice.

Arnold frowned. "Well, what brings you back to Hillwood?" He asked, genuinely curious. She looked at him, almost like she wasn't really sure why she came back. "I dunno, just felt a pull to come back here. I left Bob and Miriam's on my 18th birthday that they forgot about, and never looked back."

"Oh…Helga…I'm sorry." He said, saddened by her parents not even seeming to care about her absence. Helga just shrugged. "Yeah well, shit happens I guess." She eyed his scrubs, before smirking after a second. "Okay so now it's my turn to ask, what are you getting into these days?"

Arnold looked down and smiled. "Well, I was going to college for psychology, but after grandma and grandpa died, I decided to start med school, it's actually really cool, I've worked very hard and they decided to let me assist with minor surgeries now. Sometimes they even leave me the floor to take care of patients that aren't terminal. Like broken bones, common illnesses, or drug abusers." He noticed Helga twitch at the words 'drug abusers.' That was when he noticed the bruising on the inside of her arms, and the tired, almost lifeless look in her eyes. Helga was a heroin addict. That explained what was so off about her. The frail body, the tired look in her eyes, the bruising on her arms. Arnold felt his heart break for her, he felt so bad that she felt like this was all that she had to turn to after her negative home life.

"Oh Helga…" He said, reaching for her arm. She retracted it back quickly, shooting him a look that could kill. That was the only life he saw in her since they bumped into each other. "I don't need your pity football head, so don't bother giving it." She quickly scrambled to grab her bag, standing up abruptly. "I've gotta go. Thanks for the coffee." She said, tossing two crumpled bills onto the table before opening the door brusquely and walking out of his sight from the windows. Arnold stared at the crumpled two dollars on the table and sighed.

Arnold still had the desire to help people, just like from when he was a kid. And his desire to help Helga was more than what he normally felt when he saw a distressed soul. Seeing how different she was now. He would've rather had the mean Helga instead of this… almost zombie like woman that had sat across the table from him just moments ago. He prayed he would see her again, so he could try to convince her to get help from his hospital. He fished his wallet from his pocket and pulled two dollars out, setting it on the table on top of Helga's. He stood up, collecting his coat and tossing it on, heading out the door in the opposite direction Helga left.

Later that night, Arnold laid in his bed, deep in thought about Helga's situation. Where did she stay? Did she have a decent place? Maybe she'd be better off staying in the boarding house. After all, there was a room open. He kept thinking about Helga. It was so foreign to him to think so fondly of her, especially after all these years. He admitted that there was a time he cared for Helga, in freshman year, even more than friends. Was there an unresolved affection he had for Helga?

His thoughts were cut off by the sharp ringing of his iPhone. Gerald was calling. Perfect, he was actually living with Phoebe, so maybe he could get some answers from them and if they knew anything about Helga's predicament. "Hey Gerald." Arnold answered. "Hey man! How's the hospital treating ya?" He said, cheerily. Arnold smiled over the phone. He always looked forward to Gerald's calls, even though they were rather late, seeing as this was really the only time neither one of them were busy with work or school. His lifelong friend always managed to make him happy, even if things  
were at rock bottom. "It's going great actually. But listen, I'm actually really glad you called. I ran into Helga today." Arnold said, quickly changing the subject. There was silence on the other end of the line. "…How bad does she look now?" Gerald asked, concerned. "You know about her problem?" Arnold asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah, Phoebe ran into her about two months ago and she looked pretty rough. She offered to help her, but Helga's as hard headed as ever and hasn't spoken to Phoebe since."

Arnold stared at the opposite wall, holding the phone against his ear. "You there man?" Gerald asked. Arnold snapped out of it and shook his head slightly. "Yeah, but hey listen, I think I'm going to try and help her." He said, hope in his voice. "You're a bold guy Arnold, but I think you should go for it. If anyone can get her to come to her senses, it's you, lover boy." Gerald laughed.

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Tell Phoebe I said hi. Oh, and Gerald?"

"Yeah man?"

"Wish me luck." Arnold smiled.

"Of course dude, you'll need it with Helga G. Pataki. Call me and let me know how it goes. Bye."

"Bye." Arnold hung up the phone, setting it back on his nightstand. He sat up in his bed now, trying to figure out how he'd run into her again, seeing as he didn't even know where she lived.

He sighed; he knew he really needed to get some sleep. He looked at the clock. 11pm. He had to be in class in 9 hours and needed all the sleep he could get because right after his classes he had to be at the hospital by 2pm. Helga was a problem for tomorrow, he just hoped he wouldn't regret trying to help her in the end.

He lay back down in his bed, shutting his eyes. After a few minutes, sleep finally took him and he dozed off.

_Across the street…._

Helga stood at her window, coming down from one of her legendary highs. She had just cut off the latex on her arm, gently prodding the now forming bruise from where she had stuck herself with the needle. She noticed Arnold's light go out in his room across the street in the boarding house, sighing quietly. She felt bad for her outburst in the coffee shop. She just got so frustrated, because she didn't want Arnold to know, that was the last thing she needed. She laughed to herself, it was so ironic that this seemed to be the only apartment available in her price range, and wouldn't you know it, it just so happened to be right across the street from her lifelong crush's place. It's funny how the world works. She looked back to her bed. She should really get some sleep. Her shift as a waitress at the local diner was starting at 10am, so she needed all the sleep she could get.

She stretched, then slipped on an old nightgown of hers and crawled achily in her bed. She was starting to notice how bad this problem was becoming. Normally she'd just brush it off, but seeing the pain in Arnold's eyes for his old friend really made her think twice. _Tomorrow… tomorrow is the last day I'm going to do this…_ She thought to herself.

Unfortunately, she knew that this wasn't the first time she had said this, and probably not the last. She slowly rolled over; shutting her eyes, praying that sleep would take her away from reality soon.

**_*EEEEEE (: I'm excited about this new fanfic of mine. I really hope you guys like it! It's a bit on the darker side, and I hope I wrote it well. Told you there was a slight twist! And of course, leave comments and reviews, let me know what I can do better! Thank y'all for reading!*_**


	2. Chapter 2: Savior

Arnold's alarm clock went off and he just rolled over, watching the number blink as some cheesy top charter played quietly. He groggily reached for the 'off' button and rubbed his eyes after clicking it off. He knew he probably wouldn't have time to make it to the gym today, so he did a few reps with his weights and showered. He leaned forward, pressing against the wall, thinking about Helga again. He was really hoping to see her today, or soon for that matter.

He was scared for her, scared that if she didn't get help now it might be too late for her later. He sighed, shutting off the water and wrapping his towel around his waist before heading back up to his room. It was like he was on auto pilot this morning as he got ready. He finally made his way to class, still in somewhat of a daze.

His old friend, Sid, who sat next to him in Anatomy, elbowed him. "You straight man? You're pretty zoned out right now." Arnold turned and looked at Sid, then stretched to wake up a bit. "Yeah I'm good. Just had an interesting day yesterday. I ran into Helga." He said.

"Ohhhh." Sid wiggled his eyebrows. "Still got the hots for her hmmm?" He jokingly nudged him. Arnold rolled his eyes. "Oh shut it and pay attention." He laughed. Sid chuckled, then they both turned their attention back to the lecture and that was the end of the conversation.

Arnold's classes ended for the day and he hustled over to the hospital for his shift there. "Hey June." He waved, smiling to the nurse behind the counter. June was a rather large black woman, and everyone adored her at Hillwood General. "Hey baby! How are you doing sweety?" She asked, cheerily as usual. Arnold smiled. "I'm doing great June, thank you for asking. I'll talk more on my way out." He said, in kind of a hurry to make it to the third floor on time. He made it with a few minutes to spare. "Hello Arnold." Dr. Witz greeted him, flipping through papers on his clipboard as usual. "Hello Dr. Witz. Any surgeries today?" Arnold asked.

"Actually no, and to be honest, we're pretty heavy on staff in here today. You're more than welcome to head home if you'd like, I know you're probably tired from school and working here on top of that."

Arnold seemed a little relieved. "That sounds great actually; I did have a few errands that I needed to run anyways, I'll see you tomorrow then?" Dr. Witz nodded. "Look forward to it, have a great day Arnold." He waved before turning on his heel, his face back in his clipboard.

Arnold rode the elevator down, spoke to June for a few minutes and then left the hospital. He really didn't know what to do with the day now that he was free. Maybe he could try to find Helga? He raked his hand through his hair, he felt like he was practically stalking her. He sighed, resting his right hand on his hip as he watched cars ride by in a hurry.

Screw it; he'd just stroll around the city. What could it hurt? He dug into his small satchel he always carried and rustled out his headphones, plugging them into his iPhone and playing some instrumental demo he found online. It was just background noise, really. He didn't really hear the music, it was more of a notice to people that he clearly did not wish to talk.

He walked for what seemed to be like an hour. He decided it was about that time to get back home so he could get ahead in some of his school work.

Arnold was getting ready to cross the street to the boarding house, he passed a nearby alley and something caught his eye. He stopped in his tracks and backed up to notice something leaning up against the trash can. Wait…was that a person? That was when he noticed the long blonde hair that was cascading down. _Shit!_ He ripped out his headphones and charged towards the woman leaning against the trash can. "Ma'am! Are you alright? I'm an intern at a hospital I ca-" His heart dropped. It was Helga. He felt panic building. He gently took her face in his hand. "Helga? Helga it's me, Arnold." He said, trying to coax her out of her unconscious state.

She still didn't respond. He felt in the pit of his stomach that he knew what was going on here. He took her hand in his and noticed her nails a slight blue tint. Getting more anxious, he gently pulled at her eyelid to see her pupils. Yepp, pinpoints. Just to be positive though, he checked her pulse on her wrist. It was really weak. _Shit…she's overdosing._ He dug in his pocket for his phone, but jumped when Helga's hand landed on his. She looked at him in a daze before shutting her eyes again. He went back to dialing 911. "I need an ambulance for a drug overdose now!" He gave them the address and they were there within a few minutes.

They loaded Helga onto a stretcher and hauled her into the back of the ambulance, Arnold jumping in after them. "I'm an intern at Hillwood General, take her there." He urged in a rushed voice. The ambulance hurried through the streets, the sirens screaming. Arnold was staring at Helga, his heart pounding in his chest.

They finally reached Hillwood General and they rushed her into the hospital, Arnold in tow. They got her hooked up and stable, Arnold standing by and assisting when he could, but Dr. Witz recommended he not interfere too much since it'd be a biased person treating her. He reluctantly sat back as they worked on her.

"You alright Arnold? You know we're going to have to keep her here overnight, so you can always come back in the morning." Dr. Witz said, bringing Arnold out of his zoned out stare on Helga. He shook his head. "I'm the only one here for her Dr. Witz, I need to stay."

Dr. Witz nodded. "Well, you know you're more than welcome to sleep on one of the employee cots in the break room." He said before leaving the room.

Arnold nodded, then watched him leave, and turned his attention back to Helga's sleeping form. He scooted his chair to the side of her bed and took a hold of her hand. He really didn't know what to do in this situation, other than what he did with grandma. Just holding her hand through it, hoping it would do something, but knowing it was all for not seeing as she was unconscious. He kissed the top of her hand and started mumbling angrily to her.

"How could you do this to yourself, Helga?" He hissed. "We all would've just been a phone call away for you when you moved. You could've called _me._" He held her hand tighter, holding it up to his forehead, looking for more to say. "You left before we could have anything… and you didn't even try to stay in touch…" He drifted off, looking at her sleeping face again. He took a moment to notice fully how badly the drugs were damaging her body. He skimmed her thin face, noticing that she seemed to try and make herself not look so broken. He could see the faint make up lines to try and cover her bags under her eyes. He noticed how badly her collar bone protruded against her skin. He got chills, not even wanting to imagine the rest of the damage. He really had no idea what to do. He wanted to take her in and help her sober up at the boarding house, but he didn't want her to have another outburst like before. He knew she needed help, but if she wasn't willing to accept it, there was really nothing he could do.

His heart sunk at that. What if she did refuse his help? She wouldn't, would she? This was _Arnold_ we were talking about. Her lifelong crush and love. But deep down he knew that seven years was a long time to lose feelings. He sighed, he needed to relax. He couldn't do anything about it while she was sleeping. So he figured he may as well take up Dr. Witz's offer about the employee cot and sleep for an hour or two. He looked at the clock- 2am. Yeah, it was about that time for some shut eye. He'd talk to Helga tomorrow about moving into the boarding house.

He stood up, and headed towards the door, making one last glance at Helga before quietly stepping out of the room.

_***DRAMA ALREADY?! LE GASP! excited that I was able to post this so soon. I have to admit, when I saw the pleasant reviews so quick after I posted chapter one, I got started ASAP on this one. Let me know what you think of course. And thank you for following, leaving reviews, and of course comments! Enjoy guys! I hope you're as excited about this new fanfic as I am (:***_


	3. Chapter 3: Wakey Wakey

(flashback)

_Helga stormed out of her job, angry with her boss-again. What a douchebag, they always fought with each other. He knew she was a good server and that was the only thing keeping her here. She grunted in frustration, swinging her bag over her shoulder. She headed home, seething the whole way. She fiddled with her apartment keys and flung her door open, shutting it with a loud thud. She tossed her bag onto her bed, searching for something. "Come on… come on…" She mumbled to herself. She finally managed to find what she was looking for and pulled out a fresh needle and her band for her arm. _

_She tied the band around her arm tightly, her veins slowly starting to protrude more. She reached for the needle and stuck it, pumping her addiction into her. She sighed, leaning back on her seat, her head resting against the wall. She sat there for a few moments, growing disappointed. She wasn't getting it as good. "One more couldn't hurt I guess." She shrugged, not really caring even if it was too much for her. _

_She stuck another needle in, and leaned back again, finally feeling the rush. _

_She sat, head reclined for a few moments, noticing this wasn't how she normally felt when she was high. "Maybe I need water…" She mumbled, reaching for her water bottle on her nightstand and chugging it quickly. She still didn't feel better. She felt her head starting to rush. "Ugh… I should just step outside…" She said to herself, fumbling with the door, and then stumbling out. _

_She miraculously made it to the first floor, pushing the front door open weakly and began strolling down the sidewalk. She stopped a moment, resting her arm on the wall to hold herself up. She lost her grip on the wall and stumbled into the alley on the side of her apartment building. She crashed into a trashcan, her hair falling into her face in a tangled mess. She panted, feeling her heart throb, struggling to keep beating. Her head was reeling. She tried to stand, but was too weak. _

_She gave up after another failed attempt, shutting her eyes, trying to feel some sort of relief from this. _Am I overdosing? _She thought to herself. She never had before, so she wasn't sure. Normally she could skim by, just barely avoiding an OD. But this time it seemed she couldn't avoid it. _

_A young couple, probably in their mid-20s, walked by and saw her in the alley. "Oh my God! Bradley we need to do something!" The woman said, horrified. The boyfriend just rolled his eyes. "It's just another druggy Sam, ignore her. She can help herself." He said, annoyed before gently pulling his girlfriend along. The girlfriend watched the blonde girl in the alley until they were out of sight of her again, leaving Helga to fend for herself._

(end flashback)

Arnold's phone alarm woke him from his nap. He slid the lock, setting his phone back down and rubbing his eyes. He sat up in the cot. Why wasn't he in his room? Oh, that's right; he had forgotten what had taken place the day before. He sighed heavily, before picking his phone up again to see what time it was. His phone shone a bright "4:15am" on its screen. Two hours of sleep, if that. Hopefully he could function on this. He stretched, then got up from the cot and neatly organized the sheets, knowing someone else would probably be heading in here soon.

He opened the door and headed out into the hall. He just so happened to walk out when Dr. Witz strolled by with his usual clipboard. He must've seen Arnold walk out because he stopped and flipped the papers to Helga's information. "Hello Arnold, how did you sleep?"

Arnold shrugged. "Best as I could, given the circumstances I guess. Thank you for asking. How is she?"

Dr. Witz looked down at the paper. "She's stable, but still sleeping. There'd really be no point going into her room right now. Why don't you rest some more and I'll fetch you when she's awake?"

Arnold shook his head. "I don't want her to think she was just found by a random person. Plus, me being there when she first wakes up might calm her down. And I want to talk to her about her rehabilitation after she gets out, and me being there first thing might help her decision in taking the help."

Dr. Witz nodded. "Well, good luck to you Arnold. I hope she takes your help, because if there's anyone that can help people the best, it's you." He said with a tired smile, returning to his clipboard and heading down the hall once more.

Arnold watched him walk away; yawning after Dr. Witz disappeared from sight around a corner. He really was rather tired; maybe he could rest a bit more in Helga's room. Yeah, that didn't sound like too bad of an idea. He'd still be there when she woke up after all. He walked to her room, peeking into the doorway to see if she really was still asleep, she was. He sighed, he just wanted it to fast forward so she would just wake up and they could talk about her predicament. He stepped into her room and sat in the chair.

He pulled his phone out, setting a vibrate alarm at 6:00am to make sure it wouldn't wake her up with its noise. Then, he tried to get as comfortable as he could in the hospital chair, but one knows there's only so much comfort you can seek in them.

He leaned his head back and stretched his legs out, crossing his arms in the process. He shut his eyes, and surprisingly sleep took him a lot faster than he expected.

His alarm buzzed at 6 and he jumped from his sleep, quickly looking at Helga to see if there was any change. Nope, nothing, still asleep. He sighed; he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. He pulled his phone out and set another alarm for 7. He didn't want to sleep too long, less he wake up after her. He really didn't want to screw this up with her. And knowing Helga, one sneeze at the wrong time and poof, she'd be gone.

He went back to his stretched out state and fell back asleep.

Helga woke up, feeling extremely sore. She groaned, sitting up in the hospital bed, jumping at the slight tug from the IV in her arm. Her attention shot quickly to it. "Shit!" She whispered, looking around and realizing where she was. Why was she in the hospital? She was trying to remember what had happened the day before. Oh yeah… She guessed it was because she really did overdose. Some random person must've found in the alley. She slapped her forehead. How embarrassing, some random passer by finding her in that state? "Ugh!" She slammed her hand down onto the bed, it hitting with a quiet thump on the sheet. That was when she heard quiet snoring coming from the corner of the room. She slowly turned her head, wondering who on earth would be in her room, seeing as no one knew she was here that she would know. She noticed the hair, and she knew instantly who it was. _Arnold…? What the hell is he doing here?!_ And it dawned on her; this was probably the hospital he interned at. But why would he know the room she was in or anything? Let alone her being here in the first place.

Maybe Arnold was the one who found her? Her heart sank, that would be even worse than a stranger. She hated that he knew about her problem, but it's even worse that he had to pretty much babysit her while she was in that state. She let out a long, drawn out and frustrated sigh. Great, just great. Arnold probably thought the worst of her know, even more than when he knew she was a druggy. She noticed a small wet drop hit her sheet. Even better! Now she was freaking crying. _Get it together Helga old girl…_ She thought.

She started to hear a buzzing coming from where Arnold was sitting. It must've been his phone. Oh crap! She didn't want him to think she had been watching him or something while he slept. She saw him stir before she plopped back onto her pillow, pretending to be asleep again.

Sure enough, Arnold's eyes opened up and he pulled out his phone, shutting off the annoying buzzing. He stretched, yawning in the process. He looked at Helga. "Still asleep. She must be exhausted." He said under his breath.

Helga's heart was racing, now was a better time than anything to "wake up" in front of Arnold. Like she used to fantasize about when she was a kid. Not necessarily in these circumstances though. She stirred, letting out a fake sigh before sitting up in the bed. Arnold's eyes shot to her now moving body. Finally she was awake. "Hey Helga..." He said, a little quietly, not wanting to surprise her.

Her head turned quickly to Arnold. "Arnold? Where am I? And what are you doing here?" She asked, faking surprise. She had pretty much gathered everything that had happened, but Arnold, not knowing she had already woken up, explained the whole thing in full detail. Okay, maybe there were a couple parts she missed.

"So… why did you stay here?" She asked, honestly curious. She didn't think anyone would really care about just another druggy that OD'd. Arnold looked at her. "Why wouldn't I? Helga, you're my friend, I'd never leave you like that. It wouldn't be right."

Helga almost looked disappointed. What was she expecting though? A confession of his love for her? That was just silly.

"But…" Arnold cut her off to her thoughts. "There is something we need to discuss." He said, in a rather serious tone.

_Oh jeez…. What does Football Head have planned for me?_ She thought, a little anxious now. What could he want to talk to her about?

_***sorry guys, it's a bit on the short side. I wanted to post something today, seeing as I won't have my computer with me tonight or tomorrow. Something to hold y'all over! Enjoy! critique, comments, all that good stuff as usual. Thank y'all again for keeping up, I'm glad you guys are as excited as I am about this story!***_


	4. Chapter 4: Let Me Help You

Helga and Arnold made silent, awkward eye contact with each other for what seemed like forever. The contact was broken when Dr. Witz stepped into the room. "Ah, look who's awake." He said, clipboard in his face as usual. "Good morning, Mrs. Pataki. How are you feeling?" He asked, checking all of her vitals on the machines.

Helga shrugged. "As good as I could feel I guess." She said a little annoyed. Man, she felt really irritable. "Well, someone's a little touchy. That's normal for withdrawal. You've been clean for almost 24 hours and your body doesn't like that." Dr. Witz said, scribbling something down in his clipboard and folding it into the clear paper holder on the side of her door. "I'll leave you two for a little while so you can sort things out." He winked at Arnold before gently cracking the door a bit.

Arnold coughed, trying to stall for words. Helga turned her attention back to Arnold. "So, what do you wanna talk about?" She asked.

Arnold leaned forward. Okay, this was do or die time now. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about your rehabilitation." Helga twitched at the word "rehabilitation."

"…Okay…? And?" She asked, urging for him to get to his point. "Sometime today Football head!"

Arnold let out an annoyed sigh. "_Stop_ calling me that Helga."

"Well you won't get to your stinking point! If you wanna talk then ta-"

"I want you to come and stay at the boarding house." He cut her off.

Helga's breath hitched in her throat. They sat in more silence. "…You…you what…?" She stammered, clearly stunned by his statement.

Arnold took a deep breath. "Yes, you heard me right. I want you to come and stay in the boarding house so we can work on your rehabilitation." He gauged her reaction.

Helga grew quiet, she really was speechless. "Where would I stay? Just if I hypothetically said yes to your crazy suggestion." She asked, trying to keep her anxiousness to a minimum.

"There's a spare room. It's pretty much furnished too; it even has a small TV. And cable." He felt like he was trying to sweeten the deal with her, but he knew bribery wouldn't really do much for Helga.

Helga thought for a few minutes. They were both silent. You could've heard a pin drop, and cut the tension in the room with a knife.

Arnold jumped when Helga spoke. "Alright. I'll do it."

Arnold was quite surprised. It was that easy? "Really?" He asked, stunned.

Helga shrugged. "It beats the piece of shit apartment I'm in now."

"Helga, you need to be serious about your sobriety. This isn't so we can be roommates. It's so I can help you. You're my friend; I want to see you get better." Arnold breathed.

"I know Arnold…I know." She looked saddened now. "This," she gestured to the room, and her IVs. "This was a wakeup call for me. I didn't realize I was throwing my life away so much…" She leaned forward, smoothing her tangled mess of hair back.

"You know this isn't going to be an easy road." He added, making sure she knew this would be difficult.

"Well you're pretty hard headed there, _Arnoldo_, so I guess I'll just have to roll with it, won't I?" She asked sarcastically.

Arnold let out a small chuckle. "You don't know stubborn until you know Helga G. Pataki." He teased.

Helga shared a genuine smile for the first time since her and Arnold reunited. It made Arnold feel really good, knowing that he could finally see the smile he'd liked so much when they were kids.

They both sat there, smiling at each other, almost in a zoned state. They were snapped out of it when Dr. Witz walked back in the room. "Sorry to interrupt your staring contest," He teased. "But Ms. Pataki, you should be ready for discharge in about an hour, so I hope you two have figured out what you will be doing for your rehabilitation."

Arnold nodded. "Yes, we have Dr. Witz."

"Good, now we just need to finish up your paperwork Ms. Pataki, and you'll be all set."

Helga finished up her paperwork with Arnold's help. She felt rather weak from withdrawal, so she was wheeled out of the hospital, much to her annoyance. Arnold had called a cab and it was sitting in front of the hospital waiting. He helped Helga into the cab and sat inside next to her. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked, turning his attention from the driver to Helga. She shrugged. "I guess, I just feel hot, and pretty weak. It's driving me nuts." She sighed.

"Well, that's going to happen. You've gotta roll with the punches when it comes to this Helga."

"I know, I know _Arnoldo._" She waved him off.

They sat in silence the rest of the way to the boarding house. The ride seemed to drag on for hours, but they finally pulled up. Arnold came around and opened the door for Helga on the side so she could get out. "You need to get some rest Helga, you look exhausted." Arnold said, noticing her stifling a yawn.

"I'm fine Arnold, really." Helga asked, suppressing the annoyance in her voice. "Can we just go inside?"

Arnold shook his head, exasperated with her. He walked up the stoop and opened the front door to the boarding house. He held the door open for Helga and she hustled in quickly. Arnold shut the front door behind her. "So, you still stay in the same room?" She asked, looking around and noticing not much had changed. "Yeah, got rid of some stuff though, the wallpaper and all that is gone. Let me show you around, and where your room is."

Arnold and Helga started walking around the boarding house, Arnold explaining things as he went. Helga was half-heartedly listening, because she felt achy all over and was beginning to feel a building sense of nausea. Her eyes felt rather watery as well, but she quickly rubbed them without Arnold noticing. He was already doing so much for her; she didn't want to concern him with anything else. "And this is your room." Arnold snapped Helga out of her state when he opened the door to her new room.

They both walked in, and she was rather surprised with how large the room was. It was already furnished mostly, with a bed, small recliner and a little TV on the dresser. "I can live with this." She said, crossing her arms with a satisfied nod. Arnold rolled his eyes. "Did you want to go ahead and get your things from the apartment? It's only 1 in the afternoon, it shouldn't take too long."

Helga shrugged. "It's up to you. I don't care either way."

Arnold nodded. "Let's get it over with now then." He said as they walked out of her room and headed to the front door.

Thankfully, Helga had a month to month lease, so it was really easy to take care of her moving out. Helga packed up her clothes and a few other miscellaneous things from the kitchen and bathroom. It took surprisingly almost two hours for them to get everything out, seeing as they had to make a few trips. When they had finally finished up, Arnold offered to make them some dinner.

They had a pleasant dinner with the tenants, but Arnold noticed Helga's eyes were a bit watery and it seemed like her nose was constantly runny. He also noticed she seemed rather pale. He didn't push her with questions though, lest he face the wrath of Helga G. Pataki. After dinner, Helga decided to go ahead and get to bed, even though it was only 8pm or so. Arnold didn't object, he knew how tired she must be. He decided now was a good time to get started on some of his papers that were due in a few weeks and headed up to his room after saying goodnight to the rest of the tenants.

Helga quickly fell asleep, but had to keep waking up to blow her nose, and to pull the trashcan to the side of her, feeling like she was going to vomit. She leaned over the bed, waiting for it to come, but it never did. She felt rather shaky as well. "Ah crap, forgot to brush my teeth." She mumbled angrily, fumbling with her covers to crawl out of bed. She stepped out of her room in her nightgown and groggily walked over to where the bathroom was.

She stared at herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth in a half lidded gaze. She really didn't get a chance to look at herself much anymore, but noticed just how thin she'd become. She continued brushing her teeth, then leaned over and spit in the sink. She looked back up in the mirror for a moment before feeling bile rise in her throat. She covered her mouth quickly, and shot to the toilet, leaning over it as she started vomiting.

Arnold was typing away in his room on his desktop before he heard what sounded like groaning. He stopped typing to listen closer, hearing it a little better. He saved his paper and stood up to see what was going on. He headed downstairs, and then realized where it was coming from. He leaned on the door to hear the sound a little better. He heard it one more time and realized it must've been Helga. He carefully opened the door and peeked in to make sure she was clothed. When he saw she was, he stepped in and quietly shut the door behind him.

Helga let out another pained groan, she threw up three times already and it was starting to hurt. She leaned into the seat to vomit again, but felt her hair get gently pulled out of her face. She jumped at the sudden touch and turned quickly to see who the hell was in the bathroom. Arnold was leaning over her, holding her hair behind her back. "Relax, it's me." He soothed. Helga tried waving him off, insisting she was fine, but just threw up some more before she could get the words out. "I'm not going anywhere 'til I know you're alright." He said when she quieted down a moment to catch her breath. He debated on whether or not to rub her back in a comforting notion. When she leaned into the toilet again, that was when he decided to just go ahead and do it. He hesitated, then placed his hand on her shoulder blade and stroked it back and forth gently.

Helga was a little surprised, but didn't really have time to think about it between her now dry heaves. She leaned against the seat, waiting for the next wave to come, but after a few minutes and Arnold's continuous backrub, she decided the throw up spree had subsided. "I think I'm good now," She wiped her mouth with a tissue before getting up to her feet with Arnold's assistance. "Thanks, seriously."

"It's no problem. I told you I'm here to help." He said in a matter of fact tone.

Helga decided she should probably brush her teeth-again. Arnold stood next to her, ready to help if she needed to vomit again. "I need to get back to bed." She said after spitting and wiped her mouth free of tooth paste. "I'll walk you to your room." He said, opening the door for her. She walked out and he shut the door behind them. They walked to her room and Arnold opened the door for her once more, but stopped her from stepping inside just yet. He took her hand and gently pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm here if you need anything Helga. It doesn't matter what time it is, don't feel like a burden to me, you're far from it." Helga's eyes were wide from the sudden hug. "Y-Yeah…sure whatever! Don't get all mushy on me _Football Head_, Criminy!" She said, gently nudging him away and walking into her room.

Arnold just shook his head with a small chuckle. "Goodnight Helga." He said.

Helga let herself go for a moment, giving him a smile in return. "Night Arnold." She said, gently shutting the door. Arnold stood there for a second; almost hoping something more had happened. He shook his head, knocking himself out of it. _Give it a rest. It's been seven years. There's no way she'd still have feelings._ He concluded in his head, walking up to his room and shutting the door, deciding to go to bed.

Helga was almost leaning on the door, her hand pressed on the frame. _That was weird…_ She thought, turning around and climbing into bed.

She pulled the covers up to her chest in thought. _Get it together Helga 'ol girl. He didn't mean anything by it._ She said, putting her hand on her head as if to shake the thoughts out of her head before flopping her head onto the pillow, trying to get back to sleep, but she knew now her brain would be fogged with thoughts of Arnold.

**_*VIOLA! here it is! Chapter 4! Yaaaay! I rather like this chapter. I feel like I made it nice and long for y'all. And side note, I use actual symptoms of withdrawal with Helga's situation, so if you have any suggestions, please feel free to make them! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I'm hoping to have chapter five up either tomorrow or Monday. So please leave questions, comments, reviews, suggestions and all that good stuff as usual. I love seeing your positive feedback and excitement (: Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Happy Saturday night/Sunday morning! 3*_**


	5. Chapter 5: Just Friends

Helga slept soundly through the night after her vomit escapade. She woke up in a haze of a bit of a headache. She sat up in her bed, rubbing her temples. She gave up on the attempted relief and stretched in the bed, she got a bit of the chills for a moment. "Whoa, that was weird." She mumbled to herself before getting out of the bed lazily.

She sleepily stepped over to her dresser and changed for the day, not that she was really going to be able to go anywhere. Arnold was being a little protective of her going places so early in her sobriety. She laughed to herself, who knew that seven years go by and now she's living in the boarding house under his care. It was strange yet, she loved it.

She recalled the sudden move, and how sad she was because it seemed like the worst timing in the world since Arnold had asked her to the homecoming dance the beginning of their freshman year. She sighed, not being able to help but wonder how different things would've been if she stayed.

She shivered a bit in her jeans and tank top. Why was she so cold? It was the middle of summer and hot, she shouldn't feel this way. Must be the withdrawal she concluded before she walked out of her room. She switched on the screen of her phone to see what time it was. 9am. Oh, she had a text from Arnold too. She tapped on the message and it popped open on her screen.

_"Left for school around 7, didn't want to wake you. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. See you later tonight."_

She stared at the text for a moment before closing it and stuffing her phone in her back pocket. She strolled casually into the kitchen, not really feeling too hungry, but she knew Arnold would have a cow if she didn't at least eat something. So she grabbed an apple out of the fruit basket on the counter, washed it off and bit down into it, continuing to bite down on it so she could grab a drink from the fridge. She wasn't hungry, but boy was she thirsty. She poured herself a glass of milk before flipped her hair and feeling a bit of hardness to some of her strands. "You've gotta be kidding…" She mumbled through a mouthful of apple.

She felt her hand through some of her hair. Yepp, throw up, lovely. Guess she'd have to jump in the shower soon. Might as well finish eating her bum meal first though. She ate the apple casually, scrolling through her phone for some sort of entertainment. Finding none, she shut it off and finished her milk, setting the empty glass in the sink.

She decided now was a better time than ever to jump in the shower. Maybe she'd take a bath first? She may as well; she was the only person using this floor's bathroom anyways. Arnold made sure that the tenants knew to give Helga privacy in the bathroom, so they just decided it was best to use the other floors. There were plenty bathrooms after all. Some of the boarders had their own bathrooms in their living space, but Helga got the one that didn't unfortunately. Oh well, she was still left alone so she couldn't have cared less really.

She turned on the bath and let the water run while she brushed her teeth. She decided to spoil herself a little bit and poured some of her soap into the running water, making some bubbles stared to appear. She smiled; she hadn't had a bath since they moved. She shook the sour thoughts away and undressed. The room was a little muggy, but it felt good against her cool skin. She had goose bumps and was freezing at this point too. She stepped into the water and reclined her head back with a satisfied sigh.

She dozed off for a few minutes, feeling so relaxed. This felt like her first escape in quite a while. She must've been in the bath for quite some time because she noticed her skin starting to prune. She pulled out the stopper and turned on the shower head.

She took a quick shower, mainly to just wash the throw up out of her hair and to wash up really quick. She stepped out of the shower, throwing a towel on and wrapping it around her so it would stay up without too much effort. She leaned forward, throwing her hair up in another towel to dry and keep from dripping everywhere.

She headed to her room and opened the door, noticing her phone's screen lit up.

_1 Missed call from: Pheebs._

She felt a pain in her chest. Phoebe…she was so mean to her those few months ago, just because she was trying to help. She noticed that there was a voicemail from her and she played it back.

_Hi Helga! It's Phoebe. I heard you're working on your sobriety. I'm so happy to hear that! I was going to see if you would like to meet up for lunch today at the café on the corner. Call me! *click*_

Helga moved her phone away from her ear when the voicemail ended. She really wanted to see her old friend. She eagerly dialed Phoebe's number and after a few rings, Phoebe answered. "Hello?"

"Hey there Pheebs." Helga said with a smile. That mousey voice hadn't changed a bit.

"Helga! Hello! Did you get my voicemail?"

"Yeah I did, and I'd really like to Pheebs. What time is good for you?"

"Did you want to say noon? To give you some time to get ready? I know it's rather last minute and you'll need time."

Helga looked at the clock. 11:15. That'd give her plenty of time to get dressed, do something with her mess of hair, and walk to the café. "Sure thing Pheebs that sounds great. I'll see ya then, bye."

"Bye!" They both hung up and Helga decided to let Arnold know where she'd be just in case. She quickly typed up a message to Arnold.

_Meeting up with Pheebs for lunch. It's the café on the corner. I think it's called La Bouve, something French. See you later._

Satisfied with the text, she tossed her phone gently onto her bed before picking out an outfit. She blow dried her hair quickly, and tied it up in a ponytail. She really didn't feel like dealing with it today, so this was the lazy solution. Satisfied, she looked at the time. 11:40. Just enough time to get to the café.

Arnold looked at the text Helga had sent him, quickly typing one back and stuffing his phone back into his pocket.

_K. Should be home around 6 or 7. Gotta work at the hospital for a few hours._

Sid wasn't in Anatomy today; sometimes he skipped, so it was rather quiet. Arnold didn't mind though, it gave him time to actually get work done.

He really wanted to get the day over with so he could get back to the boarding house to make sure Helga was alright. Her situation last night had him a little nervous for what was lying ahead with her sobriety. His class finished up and he hustled to the hospital.

Helga hugged Phoebe when they got into the café. They sat down, ordered their food, and began talking. "So how's life in the boarding house?" Phoebe asked.

Helga gagged on her drink before coughing. "How'd you know about that?" She asked, quite shocked that she knew.

Phoebe laughed. "Helga, I live with Arnold's lifelong friend, remember that."

"Oh yeah, that's still so weird to me. But I'm really happy for you guys." Helga smiled, taking another sip.

Phoebe got a love drunk look on her face. "Me too, I really like him Helga."

"Pfft, I think LOVE is more like it." Helga teased. Phoebe's face turned beat red.

"Helga!"

"I'm just saying! Take it easy, I'm kidding." She smiled, chucking a piece of food at Phoebe.

"You haven't changed one bit Helga. Besides, you're one to talk, living in Arnold's house." She snickered.

"Oh puh-LEEZ. That is hardly the same thing. He's just, my care taker as of now. Just friends." She said, looking almost sad at the words just friends. Phoebe noticed the change in demeanor and quickly changed the subject.

Helga and Phoebe finished their lunch together chatting. They hugged goodbye after their meal and Helga headed back to the boarding house. She opened the front door and walked in, immediately heading to her room to grab a sweatshirt. She was freezing again! After throwing on the hoodie, she quickly checked her phone to see what time it was. Wow, it was already 3:30. She didn't realize her and Phoebe had talked that much. Then again, the stinking food didn't get there for almost 45 minutes after they had arrived. Helga grumbled at the thought. Oh well though, she enjoyed talking to Phoebe and catching up on everything.

The only problem now was what to do until Arnold got home. She decided to go up on the roof and get some air. And maybe warm up a little bit. She headed up the stairs and opened up the door, leaving it cracked behind her. She decided now was probably the best time to sneak a cigarette so Arnold wouldn't notice. She felt like he'd freak over the cigarette smoking, but it helped her calm down during her withdrawals. It also eased the nausea and headaches a bit for her. She lit up and took a long drag, leaning on the side of the roof and looking out at Hillwood. She had forgotten how peaceful it was around this time. Then she jumped when she heard a cop car whiz by, sirens blaring. Okay, maybe not _that_ peaceful. But she still missed it when she moved. She took another drag; she was really dreading the day Arnold asked what had happened with Bob and Miriam.

She really didn't like talking about it at all, the only person that knew even the remote idea of what she'd been through was Phoebe, and she didn't like the fact that she knew as much as she did.

Helga sighed, she really didn't want Arnold to know, she felt like he'd only pity her and she didn't want any pity. It happened, the past was the past. She just wanted to move on, but she knew that her addiction wasn't helping her move on.

Why was this so hard? She looked down, flicking the ash from her cigarette nonchalantly. She took another drag of her cigarette when her phone buzzed in her sweatshirt pocket. She pulled it out and opened her new message.

_Got cut from the hospital early, should be home in like five minutes._

"Shit!" Helga put her phone back in her pocket, put out her cigarette and threw it over the side of the roof before sprinting to the door to the inside. She flung it open and jogged down the staircase, heading straight for her bathroom. She clicked the door open and grabbed her toothbrush, brushing her teeth feverishly and ripping off her sweatshirt in the process.

Finishing brushing her teeth, she sprinted to her bedroom and threw on a different shirt and sprayed herself with perfume to get rid of the cigarette smell. She looked in the mirror and brushed her hair just to be safe. She looked and nodded, satisfied. "Helga 'ol girl, you are a genius."

She heard the front door open and shut just then and sat on her bed. Damn, she was getting cold again, better put on a jacket. She threw one on and opened up her door, just in time for Arnold to walk by. "Oh hey there Football Head how was your day?" She asked nonchalantly.

Arnold stopped and raised an eyebrow, surprised by her question. "Um…it was fine. Sid wasn't in Anatomy so it was pretty quiet. And not much happened at the hospital, that's why they let me go early."

"Oh, sounds like a pretty relaxed day." She said, leaning on the door frame.

"Yepp, but hey, are you hungry?"

Helga shrugged. "Sure, I can eat. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, we've got plenty of movies here. So you wanna order pizza and watch one?"

Helga nodded and smiled. "Sounds good to me! But hey, we should get Hut Pizza. They're the best."

Arnold laughed. "Yeah they are. Half Cheese, half pepperoni okay with you?"

"Sure. I'll go pick the movie. Where are we gonna watch it?"

"We can watch it in my room since that's where the movies are." He said, pulling out his phone to order the pizza.

Helga nodded and headed upstairs into his room. It was kind of weird, being actually invited into his room instead of sneaking in like she used to. She laughed at the thought, crouching down to look at the movies. She noticed he had the new comedy _Grown Adults_ and decided that was a good one.

Arnold came up a few minutes later. "The pizza will be here in 20 minutes. What movie did you choose?"

Helga held up the case. "I heard this was really funny. That okay?"

Arnold nodded. "Sounds good to me, I've seen some of it and it was pretty funny." He walked over to the wall and pushed the button so his couch would flip out, then grabbed two blankets. He handed one to Helga and set up the DVD player on his TV. They heard the doorbell ring and they both turned to the door.

"Wow that was quick. I'll be right back." Arnold said, opening the door and heading down the stairs.

Helga waited until he was gone before hustling to the mirror and fluffing her hair a little bit. She was going for the "lazy cutie" look. She stopped for a second though, realizing how silly it was. She and Arnold were just friends, and that was how it was going to stay. She sighed, sitting on the couch and pulling the blanket up with a huff.

Arnold came back up the stairs, oblivious to her frustrations. He handed her a plate with two slices on it and sat down next to her with his own. "Ready?" He asked, holding the remote at the ready.

"Sure thing Arnoldo." She smirked.

Arnold rolled his eyes with a smile before hitting play.

Arnold and Helga laughed during the entire movie, only having a couple minutes to take bites of their pizza before laughing again. The movie ended, and Arnold turned off the TV, noticing Helga was asleep. He laughed quietly, hearing her soft snoring.

She stopped snoring for a second though, and he noticed her teeth starting to chatter. Why was she so cold? She had a blanket, pants, and a sweatshirt on. That was really odd. Then he realized it. It must be another symptom. He gently picked her up and carried her downstairs to her room. He set her down in her bed, a little concerned. He could feel her shaking slightly in his arms.

He stood for a moment, in thought before coming to the only conclusion he had. He quietly crawled into bed with her and pulled her up on his chest so she could get some body heat going.

His breath hitched when Helga tiredly looked up at him in confusion. She seemed to be still mostly asleep, because she just shut her eyes again and lay back down. Arnold sighed, and then jumped at her sudden cold hands under his shirt. Wow, she sure got comfy quick!

He nervously stared at her sleeping face, concerned he'd wake up and pummel him.

Concluding that she wouldn't wake up anytime soon, he decided to get comfy himself, and quickly dozed off. He could get used to this.

**_*TADAAAA! Chapter 5 everybody! Sorry it's a little on the slower side. I hope you are satisfied with the bit of cheesy love going on this chapter though (: I'm debating on whether or not to do like a fast forward bit next chapter so I can get more of the drama going and not bore you guys with romantic movie sit ins and naps. What do you guys think? Let me know! As always, comments, critique, reviews. all that good stuff!*_**

**_*(btw, let me tell you, typing this up with acrylic nails is murder! -_-)*_**


	6. Chapter 6: Well That Escalated Quickly

_A few weeks went by and Helga was doing exceptionally well in her sobriety. She still smoked an occasional cigarette, to which Arnold found out she was doing, but much to his displeasure, she continued to smoke. She and Phoebe were rekindling their old friendship, and Arnold and Helga were rekindling the feelings they had for one another in high school. Arnold had been taking her out to dinner or lunch every couple of days, and Helga loved every second of it. Helga still had doubts about whether or not they were more than friends though, because Arnold hadn't even made an attempt to kiss her, and would sometimes slip up and refer to them as friends. She felt very conflicted inside, because she wanted to ask him, but didn't want to ruin what they had. Helga was also still struggling with some of her withdrawal symptoms. She'd wake up in a cold sweat and vomiting every few days, so she tried sticking to lighter foods. Every now and again Arnold would ask about her past, but she'd wave it off and change the subject. She had also started working back at the diner, much to her displeasure, but she didn't want to live off of Arnold and feel like a mooch. Arnold had offered to help her find another job since his semester had ended, but she refused. The money was good and it was worth dealing with her asshole boss. Life was going great for the both of them, but both of their worlds were about to turn upside down._

"So Helga, are you ready to talk about what happened?" Arnold pressed the subject at dinner.

Helga looked up with a mouthful of spaghetti. "Really football head? Now? Can't you see I'm eating?" She grumbled. "Can't we talk about this later?"

"You always say that, bottling up what happened isn't going to help with your permanent sobriety Helga."

Helga sighed, clearly frustrated. She set her fork down and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Fine, you wanna know so damn bad, we'll talk about it. Come on." She said, tossing her napkin down on the table.

"Well wait, why don't we finish di-"

"Oh no, we're going to talk about this on _my_ terms. Come on. We're going to the roof." She marched out of the room, Arnold scrambling to his feet in tow.

They reached the roof and Helga let the door swing back and smack Arnold in its backswing. "Ouch! Geez Helga!" He said, rubbing where the door knob hit him. He sighed heavily when he saw her lighting a cigarette. "Seriously Helga? Have you even tried to quit?" He asked, annoyed.

"Can it Football head before I introduce you to Old Betsy all over again." She puffed; smoke trailing out of her mouth.

Arnold just rolled his eyes. Helga noticed, but chose to ignore it as she took a drag. "So," she exhaled. "Where to start."

Helga seemed to be in deep thought, almost like she was trying to set up a chronological list in her mind. "Obviously you know we moved away. But I don't think I ever told you where." She flicked the ash off of her cigarette. "We ended up moving right on the outskirts of the Detroit area. You can tell where this is going." She took another drag. "Bob wanted to try to expand his business since he switched to cell phones, and apparently the idiot thought that would be the best place to start."

She sighed, looking down for a second, Arnold still listening intently and watching her every move.

"I knew no one there, and Olga's husband didn't want to take me in until I could figure out somewhere else to go, so I had no choice but to go with Bob and Miriam. I got into a really bad crowd my sophomore year. I got into fights almost every day. It all slowed down when I met this guy though." Arnold twitched at that. She dated somebody out there? "And he was really nice," she continued, flicking more ash. "We dated up until the summer after senior year. We had both just graduated and were both 18, so he asked if I wanted to have sex." Arnold flinched again.

"I said no, because I wasn't ready, but he decided he didn't like the word 'no' and took it upon himself to rape me in my bedroom with Miriam and Bob downstairs." She took another drag of her cigarette, and then flicked the butt off the side of the roof. "He left me there, and I went downstairs crying to Miriam, who was too fucking drunk to know what was going on, and Bob was busy watching the damn football game." She sighed, turning around the lean her back on the edge of the roof. "That was the day I realized I needed to get out, so that night I packed up all I could in my duffle bag and turned my back on them. Haven't spoken to them since."

Arnold was about to comfort her, but she started up again, so he waited.

"Then I ran out of money around Pennsylvania. This guy Roger found me, said I was easy on the eyes and that I should stop by his business."

She decided now was a good time to get another cigarette. She lit it quickly, and then continued. "Turns out he owned a strip club up the way." Arnold cringed; he didn't like the thought of that at all. "I worked there for about six months before I caught Kat in the back shooting up. She gave me a free try, her treat she said." She snorted at the last sentence, and took another drag. "So, I got hooked on it quick. Started stripping when I was high, ended up making more money because I felt looser." She flicked the ash. "After being there for about a year, I decided to save up to make it back here to Hillwood. Ended up having enough money after another year and a half, moved here, and got the job and the diner. The rest is history." She took another drag.

Arnold was a bit in shock, how could she talk about this so easily? The assault, the stripping, and the drugs? It was a lot for Arnold to take in at once. "Helga… I had no idea…"

"Yeah? Well now you do, so you can stop bugging me about it." She twiddled her cigarette around in her hand, in thought again. "You probably want me out, huh? Nobody likes trash in their house so I'd get it."

"Helga, nothing like that even crossed my mind." He said in disbelief. Why would she even assume that of him?

"Yeah well, that's what Olga and her husband told me when I came back here. And I wouldn't have even dared to call Bob and Miriam. I'd never be that desperate." She took another drag of her cigarette, much to Arnold's annoyance.

Arnold sighed, and swallowed nervously. What was he about to do? "You wanna know what I've been thinking this whole time?"

Helga looked at him, almost pained, like she was expecting him to yell at her and shun her for her past.

"How such a beautiful person inside and out can go through all that and talk about it so nonchalantly…" He stepped closer, making Helga lean back a bit, her cigarette still in her hand. "…and I really hate you smoking cigarettes." He said, snatching her still lit cigarette out of her hand and chucking it over the roof.

"What the hell Football He-" She was cut off by a kiss from Arnold. Her hand curled into a fist, about ready to clock him, but who was she kidding? Arnold was kissing_ her_, and not a staged, awkward kiss like when they were Romeo and Juliet. This was a real kiss that Arnold started. She shut her eyes, relaxing.

She jumped when Arnold stuck his hand in her back pocket. He broke the kiss, pulling back to look at a dazed Helga. He held up her cigarette pack. "These are going in the trash." He said, walking away rather coolly. He opened the door, giving Helga one last look before shutting it, letting a cinder block crack it a bit so she could get inside when the shock of what he just did wore off.

A few minutes later, Helga shook out of her dazed state hustled inside, past Arnold's shut door and into her room, slamming the door shut.

Arnold was laying in his bed, eyes closed in satisfaction. When he heard her door slam shut, he smirked, knowing he frustrated and surprised her up there. He surprised himself as well, but he really liked Helga, maybe even more than liked at this point, and he wanted her to quit smoking, so hopefully that got his point across well enough.

He was still bothered by everything she had been through. He couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if they had dated in high school like they'd planned and she stayed here. He sighed, it didn't really matter, what mattered was that she was here now, and that's what he needed to concentrate on.

"AGH! STUPID FOOTBALL HEAD!" She slammed her fist into her pillow, clearly flustered and embarrassed. "What the hell did he just do up there?" She mumbled, ruffling her hair in thought. Now she was more confused than ever. He referred to them as friends, but just kissed her on the roof. She touched her lips with her free hand absent mindedly. She felt the heat in her cheeks deepen.

All of a sudden, a dumb, love struck smile came over her face and she giggled in a very out of character way. "Maybe…I'll quit smoking tomorrow…" She wiggled into her bed in her sweatpants and t-shirt, feeling confident that this time, she truly was going to stick to her word.

**_*okay, I know this one's slow and short. The next chapter is going to be nice, long and dramatic though, don't you worry! What do YOU GUYS THINK WILL HAPPEN?! Tell me in the reviews and comments! I'd love to hear what you guys think is coming up! The suspense is killing me! I should have this next chapter up by tomorrow night I'm hoping. Thanks again guys! Love y'all!*_**


	7. Chapter 7: It's Just Hit the Fan

Arnold lay in his bed that night, not being able to shake Helga from his mind. He felt a tremendous weight on his heart for what she had been through, and couldn't help but feel guilty for not trying harder to keep in touch. He really wanted to do something special for her, and that was when he got the idea.

He sat up in his bed quickly, looking at his phone. 11:30, that wasn't too late, Gerald should still be up. He quickly dialed his friend's number and after two rings, he picked up.

"Hey man…" Gerald tiredly answered on the phone. "What's up?"

"Hey Gerald, I know it's late but I had a quick favor to ask." Arnold said in an eager voice.

"Sure man," Gerald yawned. "What do you need?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you could get Phoebe to take Helga out for lunch tomorrow. I want to surprise her with flowers tomorrow but I don't want her here when they show up."

Gerald laughed on the other line. "That's it? Man I thought you were gonna ask me to hide a body or something with the way you were talking!"

"Haha very funny. Can she do it though?"

"Hold on, let me ask. Hey babe!" Gerald's voice faded out, but he came back a moment later. "She said that's fine, she'll call Helga in the morning and set up a time."

"Sounds good, I knew I can count on you man, thanks."

"No problem Arnold let me know how it goes lover boy!"

"Shut up Gerald, bye." Arnold laughed.

"Later." Gerald's line clicked.

Arnold set his phone down and crawled back into his bed, hoping he could get to sleep now that he was excited for tomorrow.

Helga woke up around 8:30 in the morning. She stretched in her bed, yawning rather loudly. She tiredly stumbled out of bed to the bathroom and took a shower, leaving her phone in the bedroom. She finished showering, brushed her teeth, and headed back to her bedroom, rubbing her towel in her hair in the process. She noticed her phone blinking, showing a missed call from Phoebe.

She quickly dialed Phoebe's number and called her. The phone rang for half a tone before she answered. "Hi Helga!" Phoebe squeaked eagerly into the phone.

"Hey there Pheebs, what's up?" Helga said, switching her phone from one ear to the other while grabbing her clothes for the day.

"I was just going to see if you wanted to go out for lunch today! If you're not busy of course."

Helga smiled over the phone. "Sure thing! Same place as last time?"

"Sounds alright to me! Did you want to meet at noon again?"

Helga looked at her clock. 9am. Plenty of time for her to eat breakfast before and get ready. "Sounds good, I'll see ya then. Bye Pheebs."

"Bye!" Phoebe's end of the line clicked off.

Helga tossed her phone back onto the bed. She started looking for her clothes and found herself a tank top and jeans. She considered bringing a jacket since it was pretty cold in La Bouve last time. _Where did I pack my jackets away when I got here…?_

She bent over and dug into her backpack that was sitting inside her closet. She fished through it and heard something clanging around that definitely wasn't a jacket. She raised an eyebrow, pulling out what was making all the noise. She jumped at what she pulled out.

A sealed needle of hers fell out of the backpack. She didn't even realize she had packed that. She shakily picked it up and stared at it. She stayed there for a moment before shrugging and tossing it onto the bed without a second thought. She'd throw that away outside so Arnold wouldn't see it, after she ate breakfast. She was starving. She stepped out of her room, shutting the door behind her and headed to the kitchen.

Arnold woke up around 9am, stretching as soon as he woke up. He scratched his head, sitting up in bed. He felt so tired today for some reason. He got up, and got dressed eagerly. He was pretty excited for today. He was going to order the flowers as soon as Helga left for lunch with Phoebe. Maybe he could even take her out to a nice dinner tonight.

He threw on his t shirt and hustled down the stairs. Helga's door was shut when he walked by. Strange, he figured Phoebe would've already called to make plans. He knocked on the door. "Helga? You up?"

There was no answer. "Helga you lazy bum," He laughed, twisting the door knob. "Helga?" He opened the door and he stopped in his tracks.

Was that… a fucking_ needle_ on Helga's bed? He snatched it up, hoping it was something of a hallucination. Nope, it was real, cold, in his hands, on Helga's bed. And it had been used. He felt his blood boil. Arnold was not normally one to get angry, but this? This pushed him to the edge. He let her into his home, took care of her, and was the only one who seemed concerned for her well-being and _this_ is how she repays him? Are you serious? He clenched his fists, barreling out of her room and headed to the kitchen.

Helga was sitting at the dining room table, eating a bowl of Loop Fruits and reading some cheesy article on how two long lost loves found each other after 20 years. She was deep in the article when she heard something slap onto the dining room table, the needle rolling into her field of vision. Her head shot up to make eye contact with a very angry Arnold. She looked down at the needle, then back at him, realizing what he was thinking she had done. "Oh shit, no Arnold, it's not what you think." She said, standing up anxiously.

"Then what the hell is it Helga?" He said, trying to control his voice, but was failing miserably. "Please, do explain."

Helga's heart was starting to race. "I _found that._ I was digging in my old book bag and found it, so I tossed it on the bed because I wanted to trash it after I ate breakfast, specifically so you wouldn't see it and think I've regressed!" She was practically crying.

Arnold stared at her, arms crossed. He wasn't convinced.

"Please Arnold, believe me!" She begged.

"I don't believe you Helga. Why would there be a random used needle in your bag that you just so happened to toss on your bed? It doesn't add up!"

Now Helga was crying. And Helga never cried, not over anything. "Arnold I am begging you, _please_. I didn't regress!"

Arnold stared at her more, and then sighed deeply. "I want you to leave."

Helga's breath hitched. "…you…you what…?"

Arnold's head was spinning as he spoke. "I want you to leave right now. For the day, I really just can't look at you right now."

Helga stared at him in disbelief, before getting angry, tears burning her face now. These were no longer tears of pleas; they were tears of hurt and anger. "No."

Arnold looked at her. "No?"

"No, if I'm leaving, I'm not coming back. _Fuck_ you Arnold." She couldn't control herself and punched the wall next to her. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DIFFERENT!" She shouted, throwing the newspaper at him. "AND YOU JUST PROVED YOU'RE LIKE EVERY OTHER PIECE OF SHIT." She slapped him, hard in the face with a resounding crack that seemed to echo throughout the house and slow down time.

Arnold's vision blurred, teary eyed from the sting of her slap. Before he knew it he heard the door slam shut and heard the wall shake and a photo fall from the wall.

His heart dropped. Did he just do the wrong thing? What did he just do? He really was supposed to be different for her and look what he did. He couldn't even hear her out because he was so clouded with his sudden feeling of betrayal. He plopped down in the dining room chair, burying his face in his hands in shame. He just royally screwed up, now what could he do?

Helga wiped her face, sniffling and sobbing quietly to herself. How could Arnold lash out like that? He wouldn't even listen to her. She stopped in her tracks, her tears seeming to freeze instantly. Helga's hot headed mind began to wander, and in a horrible way. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number rather quickly.

"Kyle? It's Helga. I need a fix. Yeah, I'll meet you at West 45th street in 15." She hung up and turned off her phone.

Arnold wants her to be a druggy? Fine…

_She'll be a fucking druggy._

**_* -hides behind hand- I told you the drama was coming... DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUNNNNN! and I have more news... _**

**_i'm going out of town! DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNN! this may or may not be my last chapter until Friday. I'm going on a much needed vacay with my family, and as much as I love you guys and writing this story, my laptop shall not be attending. I'd take it, but I'm not all about that whole '25 bucks for more than one bag' on an airplane. i'm going to try (key word TRY) to get another chapter out before I leave tomorrow. In the meantime, you guys know what to do. Comments, reviews, critique! As always, thank you again for reading! LOVE YOU GUYYYYS (:*_**


	8. Chapter 8: Danger

Helga anxiously hustled to where she was meeting Kyle, her heart seeming to pound louder with every step. Her anger and pain with Arnold was almost overwhelming, and when Helga is mad, she takes extremist measures. She couldn't shake Arnold from her mind though. She knew this would hurt him… but was that worth the price she was about to pay? She doubted that it was for a moment. She knew deep down she still loved him even after all these years, so she couldn't help but question this choice. Still caught in her inner turmoil, she reached the street and quickly caught sight of Kyle. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears as she walked up to him. "Long time no see Helga." Kyle said, a bit of resentment in his voice. "Yeah well I guess the sober life wasn't for me." She hissed.

Kyle just shrugged. "Well it's always good to get my loyal customer back." He gave her a crooked grin that she tried to avoid looking at by digging in her wallet. "60, the usual?" She looked up at him, waiting for confirmation. He nodded. "It's gone up but I figured it's you Pataki so I'll give a break." He smirked, winking at her.

Helga rolled her eyes, pulling out 60 dollars, but hesitated. Did she REALLY want to do his? She wasn't so sure at this point. She shakily went to hand him the money, but retracted her hand just before he took it. "Pataki?" He looked at her, clearly annoyed.

She looked at the money in her hand in doubt. "…Sorry Kyle, I can't do it. I promised someone I wouldn't do this again…" She said, thinking of Arnold.

Kyle's eyes seemed to blaze, almost offended by her sudden rejection of his product. "Awe, hell no Pataki, you're paying up." He said, gesturing for her to put the money in his hand. Helga stuffed the money back in her pocket, putting her hands up defensively. "Sorry, I changed my mind; it's a pretty normal thing Kyle. Look, I got to go." She said, backing up and turning on her heel to leave the alley. "I said, give me my money Pataki." He said, his voice more stern this time. Helga stopped, an eyebrow rising as she turned around to face him. She sniffed, wiping her forearm across her lip, ready to pick a fight. "I'm not giving you shit Kyle, now back off" She said, shooting him a look that would freeze Hell over.

Kyle walked over to her, unfazed. "Give me my damn money before you get yourself hurt little girl." That did it; Helga clocked him on the side of his face, knocking him back far enough for her to walk away. Suddenly, she felt a sharp, searing pain in her side. Then suddenly, a wet sensation built up where she felt the pain. Time seemed to slow as she looked down and saw a spot of blood beginning to form, a tear in her shirt.

She looked to see Kyle standing next to her, a knife with blood –HER BLOOD- coating it. He gave her a twisted smile before shoving her to the ground. "You don't fuck with my money Pataki, or my merchandise." He gave her a swift kick to the chest, bending over and picking up her wallet. She curled up, whimpering in pain.

He fished 80 dollars out of her wallet, and then tossed it to her writhing body. "Should've just listened Pataki." He said, turning to leave. "And I took an extra 20 for the trouble you've caused me. Later Pataki." He said, disappearing from sight.

Helga was left alone, holding her side in agony. And to make matters worse, her phone was poking her back in her pocket. HER PHONE! She could call Arnold for help! He was an intern at the hospital; he'd know what to do. But would he answer? She had no time to figure that out, her breaths were becoming more and more shallow with every second. She screamed in pain as she turned to grab it from her back pocket. Shit, she had forgotten she turned it off. She hit the power button, groaning in pain as she hoisted herself up and propped her back up on the wall, wincing as she put pressure on her wound. Her phone finally came to life and she quickly went to Arnold's number in her contacts.

She held the phone in her ear, willing for him to answer. "C'mon Football Head…" She rasped. "I need you…"

Arnold was getting his shoes on in a rush. He needed to go find Helga and apologize. He felt truly horrible for the way he handled the situation earlier, and he needed to make things right with Helga. As he was getting ready, he heard the familiar jingle of his phone. Who could be calling right now? Probably Gerald or Phoebe wondering where Helga was for lunch.

He grabbed his phone from his nightstand. Helga's number was blinking on the screen. Helga? He quickly swiped his finger across his screen and held it up to his ear. "Helga! Where are you? I want to apologize for-"

"Can it Football Head…" She sounded tired. "I need help…" Her breaths sounded muffled and shallow over the phone. "What's wrong? Where are you?" He asked, worried.

"St…" She gasped for air. "West … 55th street…alley." The phone made a loud scrambling noise before sounding like it fell on Helga's end of the line. "Helga?! HELGA! Shit!" He scrambled his shoes tied and charged out the front door of the boarding house. He bolted around the corner of the boarding house so he could make a straight shot to where Helga was. What happened to her? He was breathing heavily as he ran as fast as he could to her.

He could only hope that she was alright, but he really couldn't predict what condition he'd find her in. Thankfully Arnold's workouts were benefitting him because this walk would've been almost an hour or a normal person. He tore through the streets, pushing past people, praying that Helga was alright. The phone call was less than reassuring however.

His heart felt like it was slamming in his chest the whole way. Finally, he turned around the corner of west 55th street and slide into the alley. His eyes scanning for Helga, his breathing shallow. His eyes finally rested on a slumped body on the opposite wall. "Helga!" He shouted, immediately at her side. He smoothed her hair back gently, noticing her half lidded, almost glazed over stare. Helga woke with a start and grabbed his arm, not seeming to realize who was touching her.

"Helga it's me, it's Arnold." She seemed to relax when she noticed it was him. "Arnold…" She rasped, she took his hand that she was still holding onto and placed it on her wound. Arnold's eyes widened and he realized what had happened to her as soon as his hand came into contact with her side. "Shit…okay Helga, stay with me okay? I need you to stay with me." He urged.

"I have to put pressure on it, it's going to hurt but I need to do it." He said, preparing her for it. He leaned his forehead on hers and shut his eyes, knowing it was going to hurt her. He breathed in heavily before leaning his weight onto her wound with his hand. She was too weak to scream, so only a pained whimper escaped her lips.

"I know Helga, I know…" He said, his heart breaking after hearing her whimper. He quickly whipped his phone out, dialing 911. He spoke to the dispatcher for a moment and then hung up the phone. He put his forehead back on hers, trying to keep her conscience. "The ambulance is going to be here soon Helga; I need you to stay with me until then."

He noticed her eyes start to roll and her head leaned over before he gently took her face in his hands. "No no no baby, I need you to stay with me, please." He practically begged. He noticed her perk up a bit when he called her baby. It caught her of guard Arnold knew that, it was what he was going for here. She started to doze again, but Arnold gently moved her head a little to try and keep her coherent. "No Helga, please, hang on a little bit for me." He pleaded.

He finally heard the sirens and sighed with relief, and then he lost Helga to unconsciousness a moment later. But now that they were here, they could do more for her.

Helga felt her vision starting to fade and the last thing she saw was a glimpse of Arnold watching her like a hawk while the EMTs worked on getting her into the back of the ambulance. Then, everything went black.

**_*GUYS GUYS GUYS! I know this one is short too, but I wanted to get an update in while I was able to. _**

**_And let me just tell you what has happened on this so called "vacation." Let me give you the list:_**

**_1. We hit a deer on our way to the airport. (luckily we were in an F350 so no damage)_**

**_2. Bad turbulence on the plane. (I was a nervous wreck and it was my first time flying)_**

**_3. Got nailed with a penny that hit me from 420 feet in the air (that HURT)_**

**_4. Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms yesterday (I've never heard a tornado siren before and three went off, scariest noise EVER.)_**

**_soooo that's been the trip so far. Thankfully we're coming back tomorrow, so I'll have another update hopefully on Saturday night. You guys know what to do (:*_**


	9. Chapter 9: My Mind's Telling Me No

Arnold anxiously paced around Helga's hospital room, not knowing what to do with himself. Thankfully, Helga's injuries weren't life threatening, so all he had to do was wait for her to wake up and he could take her home and properly apologize. Dr. Witz had been in a few times, making jokes on how he's going to start charging Helga for permanent residence, seeing as she had been here twice in two weeks and that wasn't exactly a good start for her. And Arnold felt like he was the cause of this trip. Had he t flipped out before hearing her out, she wouldn't have been in that area. He felt a knot in his stomach thinking about it.

Come to think of it, why was she in that area anyways? He had no idea. Just as he was getting deeper into his thoughts, Phoebe and Gerald came into the room. "How is she?" Gerald asked since Phoebe was too caught up examining her friend herself. Apparently the doctors weren't thorough enough for her taste.

Arnold just shook his head, exasperate. "It was bad Gerald, the EMTs told me had I been there five minutes later it might've been too late." He shuddered at the thought. He had called Phoebe and Gerald when the ambulance had reached the hospital, so they came as soon as they could to make sure everything was alright. He was so glad they made it there so quickly, because they could calm him down in his panic.

"Hey," Gerald placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "What matters now is that she's alright man." Arnold took a breath, one that he didn't realize he was even holding. He felt a little bit more at ease with his friends comforting words. "I know, but I feel like had we not fought, she wouldn't have left."

"Speaking of which, why did you guys fight anyways?" Gerald asked, now curious. Arnold hadn't mentioned that on the phone. Arnold rubbed the back of his neck in shame. "Well…there was a needle on her bed and I sort of flipped." Gerald eye balled him. "And?"

"And I thought she had been doing it again behind my back. I lost it and I yelled at her. I told her I wanted her out of the house." He slapped his forehead, realizing how mean he was to her over it. Gerald shook his head. "And are you positive she actually did it?" Arnold squirmed from his question. "Well…No…I just got so caught up-"

"Stupid!" Phoebe squeaked, suddenly chiming in, standing between him and Gerald. "Helga was just telling me the other day that she wouldn't dare do drugs again after everything you've done for her." She poked him in the chest repeatedly. "Why would that suddenly change in just a few days Arnold? What did she say to you when you found the needle?"

Arnold was taken aback by Phoebe's outburst. He stared, confused. "She said that she had found it in her bag, and set it on her bed to throw it away when she finished breakfast…" Phoebe crossed her arms. "And you didn't believe her?" Arnold was beginning to get frustrated. Not only with them, but himself. He ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know! I was just so mad! I don't know what you two want me to tell you!" Gerald pulled Phoebe back a little to calm her down. "Calm down babe, what matters now is that Helga is okay. We're lucky Arnold found her in time might I add."

Phoebe seemed to relax with that reminder. "That is true…but I'm still not happy with you Arnold. You could've handled the situation better." She eye balled Arnold. Arnold sighed. "I know Phoebe…I know. And as soon as she wakes up, I'm going to apologize for everything." He plopped down in the stiff hospital chair, exhausted. "I feel so awful for this." Arnold leaned forward, placing his head in his hands. "I just want her to wake up already so I can apologize."

He felt his friend's hand on his shoulder again. "Hey…everything's gonna be alright man." He gave him a reassuring squeeze. "But I've gotta get Phoebe back home, her parents are calling and asking about dinner plans and everything. But you call us as soon as you two get home and we'll come visit, okay?" Arnold looked up at Gerald and nodded before standing to give him a tight hug. "I will, thanks man." Gerald gave him a pat on the back. "No problem. Are you ready to go babe? Phoebe! The doctors are plenty capable of taking care of her, stop checking everything!" He saw her almost comically checking on her sleeping friend's machines and jumped away. "Sorry sorry! Following!" She said, hustling after Gerald, leaving Arnold alone with a still sleeping Helga.

Arnold stayed in the hospital chair, checking his phone every now and again to see what time it was. He was getting more and more anxious as a couple hours passed. Helga finally seemed to stir and he jumped from the chair as soon as her eyes fluttered open. She drowsily looked around and sat up, wincing as she did. She rubbed her head, groaning. "What happened?" She asked, jumping when she noticed Arnold next to the bed. "…please tell me I'm not in the damn hospital again." She said, annoyed.

Arnold caught himself before he rolled his eyes. "Yes you are Helga. Do you remember anything?" He asked, wondering if she could remember why she was here again in the first place. "Umm…" She thought for a moment before remembering, shutting her eyes as the memory came. "I got stabbed…" She said, gingerly touching her wrapped side. Arnold felt a lump in his throat. "Yes, you did, but hey…" He took Helga's hand in his. "You're okay now, that's what matters."

Helga relaxed at his touch, but then snatched her hand away, glaring at him. "I'm still mad at you, Bucko." She shot him a mean look. Arnold sighed. "I know…and look, Helga, I'm so sorry that I jumped to that conclusion." He squatted down next to her to make better eye contact with her. "I really hope you can forgive me, and come home."

Helga searched his eyes, looking for any signs of doubt in her sobriety. She sighed. "I can't help but forgive you Arnold. You know that." She looked down, embarrassed by her admittance. Arnold squeezed her hand. "Well, let's call Dr. Witz in and get you home, for good this time. No more hospital visits for you." He smiled, lightening the mood in the room. Helga looked at him, smiling. "He should just start charging me rent." She laughed.

Dr. Witz returned to the room shortly, making sure Helga was well enough to go home. After an hour of even more annoying quick tests, Helga was discharged and Arnold took her home. They arrived at the boarding house and headed up to the front door. Arnold held the door for Helga, shutting it behind them. Arnold was pretty surprised with how well Helga was holding up with her bandaged side and bruised ribs, but hovered behind her just in case. "Football Head, give me some space. Criminy!" She waved him away from her when she went into the kitchen. "I'm hungry, are there any chips?" She asked, searching the pantry. "Top shelf." Arnold said from outside of the kitchen while he set her bag down next to her door.

He heard a groan and something fall in the kitchen, running in quickly to see Helga holding her side, blood pooling into the fabric of her shirt. She held onto her side in pain. Arnold was at her side in a split second. "I just stretched the stitches. I'm fine Arnold." She said, clearly frustrated that he wouldn't leave her alone. "Helga, you need to be more careful. Come on, I'll help you change your bandage." He said, gently tugging her into the hall bathroom for the first aid kit. Helga let out a frustrated sigh, but winced at the slight pain. Arnold gestured for her to sit on the toilet while he searched for the bandages.

He pulled out a large gauze roll and stood Helga up. "Lift up your shirt for me." He said, undoing some of the gauze from the roll. Helga carefully lifted her shirt, trying to avoid hitting the stitches too much. Arnold knelt down and gently pulled off the soiled bandages, watching Helga's reaction closely so to make sure he wouldn't hurt her.

Once her soiled bandages were off, he wrapped her side with the fresh gauze, pausing every time she winced. "I'm fine Football Head just get it over with, jeez." She sighed, flustered. Arnold shook his head, smirking. It was funny how accustom he was becoming of his old nickname she had for him. "Helga…what were you doing on West 55th anyway?" He asked, still kneeling but looking up at her. Helga was silent for a moment. "Before I tell you Arnold, I need you to promise me you won't flip like you did earlier." She said, glaring at him for a moment.

Arnold nodded. "I promise I won't Helga." Helga sighed. "I met up with Kyle, trying to get a fix," Arnold let out an exasperated sigh. "Let me finish Football Head." She said harshly before continuing. "But I changed my mind the last second, Kyle got mad, I punched him." She looked down. "And he stabbed me." She felt awful, she shouldn't have gone in the first place. "I was so mad and hurt with what you said Arnold, I just didn't know how else to handle it. But I swear to you I didn't use that needle you found in my bag." She looked at him, truth obviously in her eyes.

Arnold took her hand in his. "I know that now Helga. And "I'm so, so sorry that I reacted like that. I should've given you a chance to explain yourself." Helga shook her head. "No Arnold, I'm sorry that was in my bag in the first place." Helga felt so weird talking like this. She never felt the need to explain herself, only when it came to Arnold. "No, there's no reason for you to apologize Helga. But hey, let's get you to bed; it's almost 11 at night." He said helping her up off of the toilet seat.

They walked down the hall together, Arnold feeling so many emotions building up inside him. He was so happy she was safe and sound, but he wanted to show her that he was happy she was safe, but how? It's not like he was good at this sort of thing. He wasn't a Casanova to any stretch of the imagination, so what could he do? They finally reached her bedroom door and they both stood there, seeming to squirm. "Well, goodnight Football Head. Thank you for pretty much saving my life today." She said, rather uncomfortably. "Of course Helga, why would you think I wouldn't have come?" He asked, surprised.

Helga shrugged. "I just knew how mad you were, so I took a chance with calling you. After what you said about wanting me out of the house for a while, I just…I don't know." She looked down at her hands, her sentence fading off. Arnold tilted her chin up towards him. "Helga, no matter how mad I am, if your life is in danger, I'm there in a heartbeat." He said before pulling her into a gentle hug, conscious of her side. Helga's breath caught in her throat by the sudden embrace. Arnold held her for a long moment, caught in inner turmoil on whether or not he should ask her to stay in his room tonight.

He pulled away from the hug, staring at her for a moment. Helga grew uncomfortable under his gaze. "Well…goodnight Arnold, I'll see you in the morning." She said, backing into her door and fiddling with the handle until it opened. She stepped into the room and was just about to shut the door before Arnold's arm stopped it from closing. "What are you doing Football Head? Let me go to-"

"Sleep in my room tonight." Arnold said, surprising himself by his outburst, but he knew he wanted her to. Helga's eyes were as big as boulders by his sudden suggestion. She stood there, staring at him through the crack in the door, trying to search his eyes.

Helga felt a sense of panic build in her gut before she shut her eyes, shaking her head. "No, no way. I can't do it." She said before pushing his arm out of the way of her door and shutting it with a loud thud. She slumped to the floor against the door, leaving a stunned Arnold staring at the now shut door to her room.

_***BLECH! Let me apologize ahead of time, because I don't like this chapter. I typed it up, finished it, all that good stuff. And now I HATE IT. I don't know why. ;_; I hope you guys like it more than me. **_

_**and thank you all for the safe wishes. We made it home safely. The plane ride home was worse than the trip up though, let me tell you. You have not experienced fear until you float out of your seat on an airplane because the weather you were flying through made it DROP DOWN IN THE SKY LIKE 300 FEET. Oh my goodness gracious. I gotta say, I really didn't know if I'd make it back at the rate we were going. but again, thank y'all for the safe wishes. Leave comments, questions, and reviews (:***_


	10. Chapter 10: Why Now?

Helga slumped down to the floor, her heart racing. _No, no no no._ This wasn't what she wanted from Arnold. She felt panic building in her gut, forming a lump she couldn't seem to get rid of no matter how many times she swallowed. She didn't realize her breathing was so uneasy until she heard herself panting. Why was she freaking out like this? It was Arnold, asking her to stay with him for the night in his room…wasn't that what she had always dreamed of and obsessed over when she was just a kid?

She clutched her hands to her chest, drawing her knees up to herself, trying to gather her thoughts. She had been confused before, but now? Oh, this took the cake. She couldn't help but wonder if she was scared of what would happen in Arnold's room. The only memories she had of sex were not very pleasant, and that was the only experience she really had to compare it to. And who was to say Arnold was just sweet talking her into it? How could she know for sure that Arnold wasn't just like him?

She stared at the opposite wall, feeling sad. She really couldn't be 100 percent sure that Arnold really had the best of intentions with her. Look at what she had been through with everyone else. Her sister abandoned her, her parents couldn't care less about her life, her ex was just a pervert, and she never really had a true friend other than Phoebe. How could she know that Arnold hadn't done all this just to get in her pants? Or at least try to?

She felt tears well up in her eyes before she practically punched herself on the sides of her head with her fists, trying to shake these thoughts. They were spiraling out of control, and she knew it. Arnold, having any malevolent intentions with her was absolutely ridiculous, and she knew it. Arnold just wanted to help, that had been in his nature since they were kids. He always felt the need to help his friends. And that was what Helga was to Arnold, wasn't it? But they were _just_ friends, right? Helga buried her face into her forearms, feeling her body jerk with her sudden sobbing.

"God!" She pounded her fists into the carpet. Why was she freaking out like this? She shot up quickly, ruffling her hair, trying to calm down. Why did he have to be such an airhead? He had to know that she had feelings for him that were more than friends, and maybe he felt the same way? Why else would he ask her to stay with him tonight?

No, no, she couldn't do it tonight. There was too much running through her mind, she was a jumbled mess right now, and she didn't want Arnold to see her like that. She wiped her eyes, deciding she really just needed to lie down right now. Since she wore sweats and a t shirt home from the hospital, she just plopped into her bed, burying her face in her pillow, praying she would fall asleep soon.

Arnold walked around his room, shocked with his sudden question to Helga, and her rejection. He had no idea what came onto him when he said that. Come to think of it, why did she say no? He stopped in his tracks; he needed to stop thinking about this. He should probably apologize for what he said in the morning. Arnold looked at his phone screen; the clock showed it was 11pm. Maybe he should call Gerald and let them know Helga was home safe. He decided he would, sliding his phone to his contacts and dialing Gerald's number.

After a few rings, his voicemail picked up.

_"Hey, it's Gerald, I'm either sleeping, busy, or just don't want to talk to ya. Leave a message!"_

Arnold rolled his eyes at his friend's goofy voicemail. "Hey Gerald, it's Arnold. Just wanted to let you and Phoebe know that Helga is home safe and-" He heard his phone beep, looking down at the screen he realized Gerald was calling him back. He ended the voicemail and answered Gerald's call.

"Hey Gerald."

"Hey man, sorry I was in the bathroom, what's up? Helga alright?"

"Yeah she's fine, home now. I just wanted to let you know."

There was a pause over the phone.

"You sure you're okay Arnold?"

"…Yeah, well, no I guess. I feel like I freaked Helga out tonight."

"Maaaaan what did you do now?"

"Well, I got caught up in the moment and told her to stay with me tonight. In my room and everything."

"Oh yeah, because that's a GREAT question to ask an unstable recovering addict." Gerald said, clearly sarcastic.

"I know, it just came out. I'm going to apologize to her in the morning. I feel like such an idiot. She said no and shut the door in my face."

"Damn! That's harsh! I didn't think it'd piss her off that much!"

"Well, that's the thing Gerald. She didn't seem mad, she seemed…scared. Like she was intimidated by me. It was so weird."

"Well, maybe she's nervous. I don't know man. But hey, I gotta go, Phoebe and I have an appointment in the morning for a new apartment. I'll try and call you tomorrow when I can."

"Okay Gerald, I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye Arnold."

Arnold tossed his phone onto his bed and sighed. Even Gerald thought it was dumb for suggesting such a thing. He was right though, Helga wasn't exactly stable at the moment. He raked his hand through his hair, yawning. He should probably get to bed; he'd deal with it in the morning.

He crawled into his bed, pulling up his covers in the process. Surprisingly, he fell asleep rather quickly, Helga still on his mind.

Helga woke up around 7:30. Wow, that was early for her. She got up, stretching and wincing at the slight pull of her stitches. Man, she forgot about that. She gingerly touched her side before getting up and heading to the bathroom. She looked at the gauze around her waist and noticed a bit of spotting. Maybe she should go ahead and change them.

After a bit of effort and mumbled profanity, Helga managed to change her bandages. Looking at her satisfactory job in the mirror, she felt her stomach growl. Time for breakfast. She headed out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, grabbing her cereal and newspaper, looking for anything of interest in the headlines today.

Arnold came in a few minutes later, still wearing his pajamas. He grabbed orange juice out of the fridge while his toast finished up and he sat down across from Helga. There was an awkward silence before Helga spoke.

"Morning Football Head." She said with a mouthful of cereal.

Arnold looked at her, a bit surprised at her speaking to him. "Good morning. Hey, I'm sorry for last night by the way. I feel like I crossed a line with you and-"

"No worries, just drop it. Never happened." She said, taking another spoonful of cereal.

Arnold was about to bring it up again, but Helga shot him one of her infamous looks and he quickly shut up.

"So why aren't you in your scrubs?" She asked, setting down her newspaper, not finding anything to her interest.

"Oh, I don't work at the hospital. Dr. Witz gave me the day off to make sure you're alright. How are you feeling by the way?"

Helga shrugged. "Fine, my side feels a little tender but I'll live. I had to change the bandages because there was a little blood seeping through."  
"Helga, you probably shouldn't put anymore gauze on after that. You have to let your stitches breathe. And you should probably stick to loose fitting shirts so it doesn't pull on them. At least until Friday when you can get them taken out."

Helga waved him off. "Yeah yeah yeah _nurse._ I got it, I'll take off the bandages when I'm finished eating."

Arnold sighed, exasperated. He then realized, it was 7:45 and Helga was already up? That was weird. "Why are you up so early anyways?"

"I felt a little sore and didn't feel like sleeping anymore. What are ya? The sleep police?" She said, sarcastically.

Arnold just rolled his eyes. "It was just a question Helga. But hey, since we're both off, why don't we rent some movies or something? Maybe we can go to dinner later, depending on how you're feeling."

Helga seemed a bit caught off guard. "Uh…sure. What movies should we watch?"

Arnold shrugged. "Well you know we've got plenty to watch, why don't you pick?"

Helga nodded. "Sure, let me just shower and all that good stuff and then we can."  
"That's fine; I'm going to be upstairs. Just let me know when you're ready."

"Sure thing." She said, standing and setting her bowl in the sink and headed out to her bathroom.

Helga finished showering and headed up to Arnold's room. She knocked on the door and he opened it, following her downstairs so they could start watching movies. Helga picked 28 Hours Later, much to Arnold's dismay. He wasn't a big fan of zombie movies, but Helga obviously did so he decided to stick it out to humor her.

They finished up that movie, and kept the movie marathon on with a couple comedies, and finished it off with a horror movie. Before they knew it, it was almost four o' clock. "Hey, do you want to go ahead and go to dinner?" Arnold asked, hearing Helga's stomach rumble.

Helga looked down at her stomach, hearing it rumble too. "We might as well; we've watched almost seven hours' worth of movies. Just let me go change." She said, standing up and heading to her room. Arnold decided he should probably go change too.

Helga picked out a sundress for her to wear, so that it wouldn't snag too much on her stitches. She put on a little make up, mainly just eyeliner and mascara. She tossed her hair up in a messy bun and after looking at herself in the mirror, she decided she was presentable enough and walked out. "Ready to go?" She asked, coming into the front hallway where Arnold was waiting.

"I was about ten minutes ago." He teased. Helga smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Very funny. Let's go."

They started walking to the restaurant, heading left. Arnold had suggested the nice little Italian restaurant that was down the street a little ways. Helga could live with Italian; it wasn't the worst food in the world to her. They went inside and were seated quickly. They chatted here and there, trying to break the random awkward silences that would pop up every now and again.

Eventually they were laughing and goofing off with each other and dinner seemed to end too soon. Arnold paid the bill and they left the restaurant. Arnold looked at the clock on his phone, seeing it was only 6:30. "Hey, do you want to take the long way home? It's pretty nice out tonight."

Helga shrugged. "Sure, there's nothing else to do. Might as well."

Helga and Arnold walked around for quite a bit before Helga's phone started ringing. She pulled her phone out of her dress's pocket and immediately noticed it was the area code of Detroit. _Uh oh._ She shakily answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Olga?"

"…it's _Helga_, dad. What do you want?"

"Hey, don't speak to me like that. I figured since you've been gone for six months you might want to know something."

"I've been gone for FOUR YEARS Bob. Why the hell are you calling me all of a sudden?"

"Miriam's in the hospital for liver failure."

Helga got quiet, stopping in her tracks. Arnold noticed she had stopped and turned to her, giving her a questioning stare as she continued to be silent.

"Olga?" Bob asked on the other line.

"It's _HELGA_ Bob! And what the hell do I care? Neither of you have seemed to give a shit about me these past four years!" She hung up the phone and tossed it onto the ground in frustration. Arnold jumped back, dodging the thrown phone. Helga started walking towards the boarding house quickly; she just wanted to get home now.

Arnold scooped her phone up, jogging after her to catch up. "Helga?" She didn't answer. She just kept walking at her fast pace.

Arnold didn't press her anymore; he just followed her, just kind of there in case needed. They reached the boarding house and Helga rushed up the steps and into the hall, quickly running to her room and shutting the door. Arnold stood in the hallway, not really sure what to do. He decided to wait around for a while, in case Helga came out. He sat down in the living room, turning on the TV. He didn't want to pester her, so he decided it was best to wait it out.

He waited for quite a while, noticing it was almost ten at night. He should probably head upstairs; Helga was most likely asleep by now anyways. He stood up and headed into his room, changing into his pajamas. He checked his email on his laptop before going ahead and slipping into bed.

Helga angrily paced her room, breathing heavily. She was so, so frustrated. How dare Bob call her out of the blue like that? Why couldn't he call when Miriam was going downhill? She kicked her dresser angrily. She almost didn't even want to care. Why should she? They didn't care when she left, they didn't care when they snatched her up out of her life in Hillwood when she was a child. She was sure Olga was being a dramatic mess about this too. Hell, she was probably already leaving for Detroit.

She slipped on her pajamas and plopped into bed, punching her pillow in the process. She felt her eyes starting to well up with tears. Why couldn't she get a break? She needed to sleep this off. She lay in bed, tossing and turning. She gave up, tossing her covers off and going to the kitchen. Maybe a glass of water would help her calm down. Chugging the water and feeling no relief, she leaned back on the counter, sighing. She was still crying.

She stood there for a few minutes before a thought came to her mind. She sighed again. "Oh screw it." She said, storming through the hall and up to Arnold's room. She gently opened the door, seeing that Arnold was already asleep. She took a deep breath and quietly padded across his floor to his bed. She crawled in next to him and Arnold woke with a start. "Helga? What-" Helga covered his mouth with her finger, silencing him. "Ask in the morning. Right now I just really need some comfort…" She said quietly.

Arnold searched her eyes, noticing they were a little red from her crying. "Okay, sure Helga." He said, sleepily and pulling the blanket around so she was under it now. He pulled her up against his chest and started running his hand through her hair, trying to comfort her. He didn't know why she decided to randomly show up in his bedroom, but he didn't really care. He could tell she clearly just needed him right now, even though he had no idea why.

He had to assume it was her dad that called earlier, seeing as she was calling the person on the phone "Bob." He really hoped it was nothing too serious, but judging by Helga's reaction to the phone call, it clearly wasn't a friendly chat. He continued to stroke her hair, looking down and noticing she had fallen asleep rather quickly. He stared at her for a moment before pulling the covers up a bit more and starting to fall asleep himself.

**_*Sorry for the delay! I'm soooo sorry guys. Between working doubles and dealing with writer's block I didn't have anything to write ): but here it is finally! and I made it nice and long for y'all. I'm not too sure about the first part, I feel like it was a little forced on my part, so sorry for that. How do you guys feel about Bob's sudden phone call? Let me know what you guys think. Questions, Comments, Reviews, you guys know what to do (: *_**


	11. Chapter 11: Hold Me

_Helga wandered the streets aimlessly, searching for something. She felt so high she couldn't even function. She stumbled around the sidewalk, dodging people that would come in her way. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her and yanked her into the nearby alley. She hit the wall hard, her eyes meeting her ex-boyfriend from Detroit. He started yanking at her jeans. Oh no… She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Her ex finished with her and tossed her onto the street, leaving her to cry on the concrete. _

_Sore and broken, she continued to stumble around the streets. Next thing she knew, Kyle was in front of her, clearly ready for a fight. She backed away from him, turning to run before she felt a sharp pain in her side, causing her to fall from to the ground, holding herself. She turned to see if Kyle was coming for her again, but he was nowhere to be found. She forced herself onto her feet, holding onto the siding of the building for support. She had to get help. She opened the closest front door, and crashed into the end table, knocking a vase over in her way._

_"Is that you Olga?" She heard a voice call from the other room._

_She quickly limped into the other room, but halted. She was in a hospital room, Miriam in the center, hooked up to several machines. She looked awful. And to make matters worse, she called her Olga again. She couldn't speak to correct her though. Suddenly, Miriam's machine flat lined. What was happening? She backed out of the room, her heart pounding. She slumped against the opposite wall. Just then, Arnold walked into the hall. He looked down at Helga, and she looked up at him, crying. Arnold stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and walking towards the front door. "Just another druggy." He mumbled._

_Everything started to fade into black when those words rang through her head._

"…lga? Helga!" Arnold gently shookHelga awake. Helga jolted up, gasping. Tears were streaming down her face. "Helga, are you alright? You started crying in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare?"

Helga's breathing calmed down a little, her sighing when she realized it was all just a freaky dream. "Yeah...sorry." She said, wiping her eyes in embarrassment. Arnold laughed. "Don't worry about it." He looked at the clock; it was only four in the morning. "Go back to sleep." He said, trying to soothe her. She yawned, looking at him. She had forgotten she stayed in his room. "I will, but do you want me to go back to my room? I don't want to bother you." Arnold cut her off. "Don't be ridiculous, you're fine. I know you're upset, and I don't need to know why, but just know I'm here for you. And if this is the only way you know, then so be it. Now go back to sleep." He urged, pulling the blanket up some more.

Helga stared at him a little bit longer before laying her head back down. After a few minutes, she fell back asleep. Arnold, however, was still wide awake after the sudden crying in her sleep. She must've had a really bad one; she was even talking out of character when she woke up. Poor Helga…she'd been through so much and just couldn't seem to get a break. He hoped that she would open up to him tomorrow, because he really just wanted to help her. And he hoped she knew that he was here for her.

He watched her as she slept, feeling a little at ease with her sleeping on his chest. He wasn't too sure why, but it made him feel a bit better about their relationship. What was their relationship together anyways? Were they friends? Were they working on becoming more than friends? And how did Helga feel about him? Her saying no to him last night to sleep in his room was a little less than assuring, but look where she was now, seeking comfort in his arms. He sighed quietly, maybe he should just flat out talk to Helga about it.

He finally felt himself starting to doze back off after watching Helga, to make sure she wouldn't have another nightmare.

Helga and Arnold both jolted at his annoying alarm tone. Arnold shifted, reaching for his phone sitting on the nightstand. He turned off the alarm as Helga sat up and started stretching. She stood up off of the bed and cracked her back. "Thanks Arnold." She said, not really looking at him.

Arnold sat up in his bed. "No problem Helga, I'm here for you. But…" He hesitated. "Can I ask what happened yesterday?"

Helga's shoulders slumped, and she sighed. She knew he was going to ask eventually; well it was nice while it lasted. "Miriam's in the hospital."

"What? For what?" He asked, clearly surprised.

"For what else Football Head? Liver failure. No shock that she's still a fucking drunk." She said, shaking her head in anger.

Arnold sighed. "Helga…that's still your mother. So, when are you going to visit her in Detroit?" He asked, stepping out of his bed.

"_Visit?_ Ha, that's a good one Arnold. I'm not going to visit those assholes. They could burn in hell for all I care." She said, walking towards the door, but Arnold stopped her.

"Helga! They are still your parents. And you know that if Miriam died, God forbid, and you didn't even attempt to go see her when you are perfectly capable of it, you will regret it in the long run."

Helga looked at him in surprise. She shook off her surprise, eyeing him. "Arnold, those… those _people_ haven't given a shit about me until now. It's been _four years. _Why should I be even remotely concerned with what's going on in their lives?!" She was practically yelling now.

"Helga, you _need_ to go." Arnold urged.

Helga crossed her arms in obvious defiance. "No."

Arnold sighed, and then got an idea. "Would it help if I went with you to Detroit?"

Helga's eyes seemed to widen. "What? No, you don't need to do that."

"If it will get you to go see them, then I will go. And it won't be a burden so don't think of it like that."

Helga searched his eyes, still unsure of his suggestion. "I…" She tugged her arm free of his grip. "I'll think about it." She stomped out of the room and down the stairs, shutting her bedroom door behind her, leaving Arnold standing alone-again.

Helga plopped on her bed, thinking. She was pretty surprised with Arnold's offer. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for her to go, and him come with her. He could soften the blow of it all; all of the overwhelming emotion she knew was awaiting her back in Detroit. But did she want to risk Arnold seeing her broken family back together? She knew something was going to happen, she could feel it in her gut. But Arnold was a caring person, and the least to judge, so maybe he'd be fine around it.

She thought for a few more minutes, before sighing and standing up. She knew she wasn't going to like this, but fine, she'd go visit Miriam. And Arnold could go with her. She grabbed her door handle, pausing for a moment. Did she really want to do this? No, but Arnold was right, it was the right thing to do, no matter how much she really didn't want to. And she REALLY didn't want to. She finally opened the door and was about to head up the stairs to his room, but then heard rustling in the kitchen. She turned, heading in that direction now.

She walked through the doorway and saw Arnold digging through the fridge. She coughed, and he jumped, popping his head out of the fridge. "Oh, hey Helga. Did you make a decision?" He asked, turning around with a soda in his hand. She walked over and took it out of his hands, opened it and took a sip. "Gee…help yourself." He reached back in the fridge and grabbed another one.

"I've decided I'll go." She took another sip of her soda. She leaned on the counter, looking at Arnold. Arnold looked at her, impressed on her decision. "But," She said, readjusting her feet. "I want you to come with me though, if your offer is still up."

"Of course it is. When do you want to go?" He asked, taking a drink.

"Well if we fly we can try to leave on Monday, so like two days."

Arnold nodded. "Just let me call the hospital and let them know I'll be gone for about a week. Is until Friday enough time for you to visit?"

"If it could be shorter I would be happier." She said with a huff.

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Helga…" He warned, clearly annoyed.

"Fine, fine, sorry." She said, putting her hands up defensively. "I won't make any more comments about it."

"Good, so go ahead and get packed and I'll call the hospital and let them know and book the flight." He said, tossing his empty can in the trash and walking up to his room. Helga walked to her room and began packing.

Monday rolled around rather quickly, too quickly for Helga's taste. She finished up some last minute packing and slammed her suitcase shut and huffing. She yanked her suitcase off of her bed and dragged it out to the hall. Arnold was waiting, leaning on the wall. He noticed her small struggle with the suitcase and chuckled, walking over and lifting it with ease, walking out of the boarding house to the cab.

"Alright Mr. show off." She said sarcastically, trudging after him. Arnold set the suitcase in the trunk alongside his. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." He chuckled. He held the cab door open for Helga and she quickly climbed in. He crawled in after her and they began the long, boring journey to Detroit.

They reached the airport, dealt with security, and headed to their terminal to wait for the plane. Which, of course, was delayed. They were finally called after almost two hours of sitting. They sat in their seats and Helga looked out the window, clearly nervous.

Arnold noticed it and leaned over to look at her face. "Are you alright Helga?"

Helga rested her head on the head rest. "I'm fine, just not a good flyer is all." She breathed. She shut her eyes, trying to relax.

Arnold watched her for a moment before reclining his seat back a little. The plane ascended and he looked at Helga again, making sure she was alright. "You sure you're okay?" He asked.

"Just wake me when we get there." She huffed, shutting her eyes tight as they hit a little bit of turbulence. Arnold stifled his laughter at her nervousness, knowing better than to laugh at her when there was nowhere to hide from her fists. He started reading the airline magazine, seeing as they couldn't use their phones. The flight was only going to be about an hour.

Arnold tapped Helga's shoulder when they started descending. "Helga, wake up, we're landing in a few minutes."

Helga groggily opened her eyes and yawned. "Finally." She said rather impatiently.

Arnold just rolled his eyes, lifting his sit back up. They touched down and as soon as they could get off the plane they headed out of the terminal and picked up the rental car. While Arnold dealt with the salesman, Helga stepped away to call Bob. "We've just landed, so we'll be at the hospital soon."

"Alright Olga, see you soon."

"_Helga_, Bob. Bye." She hung up, walking back over to Arnold.

"Ready?" He asked, holding the keys to the rental.

Helga shrugged. "As I'll ever be." She pulled up the GPS app on her phone with the hotel's address. "My phone says the hotel is about 15 minutes from the here." She said, handing her phone to him so he could plug it up to the car. They both got in and Arnold started the engine and they head to the hotel. Once everything was checked in they left for hospital. They arrived and talked to front desk to get the room number since of course Bob hadn't given it to them.

They went up to the hospital room and walked in, Helga taken aback for a moment on how bad Miriam looked. Arnold looked a bit taken off guard as well. She was so thin; it looked like the blanket was going to break her. Helga turned and looked at Arnold, not knowing what to do. Bob wasn't even in the room. Arnold motioned for her to walk over to her mother. Helga hesitated, and then slowly walked over to the edge of the bed. "Miriam?"

Miriam's eyes weakly fluttered open and she looked at Helga. "Oh, hi Helga…"

Helga was a little surprised that she called her by the correct name. "I'm here Miriam."

She unsurely took Miriam's hand in hers. She really had no idea what to do here. This wasn't Helga's thing. The doctor coughed, making his presence known in the room. Arnold moved out of his way so he could walk over to Helga. "Are you the youngest daughter?" He whispered to Helga. She looked at him and nodded. "I need to speak with you in the hallway for a moment if you don't mind, ma'am." He said quietly.

Helga walked out of the room after the doctor. "I really don't know how to say this to you, but your mother is probably not going to make it through Thursday…" He said flat out, so much for subtlety with this doctor. She froze, not really sure what to say. "Do Bob and Olga know?"

The doctor nodded. "I'm not sure where they went, but yes, I informed them earlier today. Ms. Pataki's liver is so damaged that it is beyond repair. And unfortunately, since she suffers from chronic alcoholism, she was denied any chance of organ donation." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm truly sorry my dear." He said, he really did sound saddened by having to give her this news.

Helga was frozen still. She didn't feel sad, she really didn't. She didn't know what to feel. "Thank you for letting me know." She said, turning back into the room. Arnold watched her carefully as she walked back in; he knew that whenever a doctor pulled the patient's family outside of the room, it was never good news. He sighed, taking hold of Helga's hand, but she pulled it away from his grip. She stared at Miriam, who seemed to be going in and out of consciousness.

A nurse walked in and checked on Miriam, her face a grim line as she read one of the machines. She walked over to the doctor and whispered something in his ear, and his face slumped a bit. "I'm sorry to say we'll have to excuse the both of you from the room, we have to run a few more tests." The doctor said, flipping through a few papers on his clipboard.

Helga and Arnold exited the room, she remained silent. Arnold eyed her, trying to judge what the doctor said. It clearly wasn't good. Helga sat down in a nearby chair, staring blankly. "Helga?" Arnold tried to coax her out of it.

She finally snapped out of it and looked at him. "She's dying." She said, almost emotionless. Arnold was surprised at how easily she said it. "How long?" He asked, still shocked. Helga shrugged. "Don't know, he said she won't make it through the week. She's probably dying now, that's why they sent us out."

Arnold went to correct her, but he knew deep down that she may be right. The looks on the nurse and the doctor's face weren't reassuring. He gently took hold of Helga's hand and squeezed it, trying to comfort her.

They sat there for a while in silence, when Olga and Bob suddenly walked up.

"Oh dear sister!" Olga began balling, taking Helga's head in her arms and petting her hair. "It is so terrible! Just awful!" She sobbed.

Helga shoved her off. "Get off of me Olga." She growled. She glared at Bob. "Hey there, _Bob_." She snorted.

"Watch it Olga. Don't get sassy with me." He said in a warning tone.

"It's _Helga_, Bob! I mean criminy! Olga is standing RIGHT next to you!" She gestured to Olga, whose make up was smearing from her crying.

Bob was about to say something else but the doctor showed up, an extremely grim look on his face. "I don't know how to tell all of you this, but we reevaluated Mrs. Pataki's tests and…she's not going to make it through the night. Her body is shutting down, and her organs are pretty much eating themselves through. The only thing we really can do is keep her comfortable. I'm so sorry to bring you all this news."

The group was silent. Olga was the first to break the silence with her wailing. She clung to Bob in tears and he just held Olga. Helga stood there with Arnold, no tears or anything.

Arnold was the first to ask a question. "When can we go back in the room?"

The doctor looked at Arnold before answering. "You may all go back in at any time. I truly am sorry; I wish we could do more." He said before looking back to his clipboard. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He said, turning on his heel and heading down the hallway.

The group stood there for a moment before walking back to Miriam's room. They all stood around the bed, except Arnold, he didn't feel it appropriate seeing as he wasn't family.

They were all quietly speaking to Miriam, giving her reassuring words, except Helga, who remained silent. After a few hours, Miriam's machine flat lined, a long drawn out ringing the only sound in the room. They all stood there, and Helga turned to leave the room.

"Hey! Show your mother some respect!" Bob said, clearly angry at her sudden attempt to leave.

Helga stopped, not turning around. "Respect? She doesn't deserve respect, and neither do you two." She said, starting to walk again. "Come on Arnold." Arnold quickly sat up, not wanting to fuel the fire and kept his mouth shut.

"Hey! You get back here little lady!" He called.

Helga felt her anger overflowing. Her face was hot and she was shaking. She finally turned around, and practically ran over to Bob before clocking him right in his face, sending him careening to the tile. She shook her hand, feeling the sting. "Fuck you, the both of you." She said calmly. She stormed out of the room, leaving a dazed Bob, crying Olga, and dead Miriam in the room. She was practically jogging down the halls to leave, Arnold in tow. She needed to get out of here; she _had_ to get out of this Hell hole.

She never wanted to see them again, and if she saw them in the afterlife, that'd just be too soon for her. Arnold was quietly keeping up, knowing better than to say anything. Helga jerked open the passenger door of the rental and hopped in.

Arnold went around and sat in the passenger seat, starting the car and driving to the hotel. He looked down at the clock; it was almost one in the morning.

They drove in silence for a few minutes, before Helga made Arnold jump with her sudden statement. "Bump the flight up to tomorrow, I want the fuck out of here." She said, staring out the window.

Arnold kept quiet; he wasn't sure if saying anything would make it better. Right now, he was just the lackey pretty much. They pulled up to the hotel, and Arnold parked the car before Helga practically jumped out while the car was still rolling. Helga hustled to the hotel room and opened the door, letting it start to shut before Arnold caught it and came inside the room. "Helga? Do you want to talk?"

Helga stood across the bed, facing the wall, staring. She stood there a moment before all of the pent up emotions started to build up, she felt herself start to cry. She threw a fist into the wall and Arnold jumped. She threw a second, then a third, sobbing every time her fist made contact with the wall. She felt the skin on her knuckles start to tear and she sunk to the floor, crying even louder.

Arnold practically ran to her side and knelt beside her, tugging her into his arms while she cried. She turned her face into his chest and let loose. Arnold leaned up against the wall as he held Helga, trying his best to comfort her in this time. He could only imagine what she was feeling right now. Sure, he lost his grandparents, and it was hard for him, but this was completely different.

Helga just lost her mother, if that was what you even wanted to call Miriam to Helga. And after four years of no contact, out of the blue Bob calls to tell her that Miriam's in the hospital? Then, to get here and have her die the day she arrives. He sighed, tightening his grip on Helga. "It's okay Helga…It's okay to be upset…" He whispered, careful not to ruin her emotional release that she was having. They sat in silence while he held her; the only sound in the room being Helga's muffled crying.

**_*ahhhh here it is! yay! I think this is the longest chapter I've posted! Man, Helga's getting it rough right now. Thankfully Arnold's there to help and save the day. I think I'll be wrapping this fanfic up soon. BUT i'm thinking about doing oh...I don't know...an alternate universe type fanfic next?! What do you guys think about that? I have sooo many awesome ideas for it, and I'd love for you guys to keep up with that one too. Let me know what you guys think as always (: and thank you guys for following this story, it really means a lot and it truly makes my day when you all leave such nice comments .*_**


	12. Chapter 12: The Confession

Arnold kept on holding Helga; he felt her body jerk every time she took a breath, just to sob again. He could feel the fabric of his shirt clinging to him from her tears. She had been crying for what seemed like forever, but Arnold was going to hold her for as long as it took. If this was all he could do to prove that he truly was there for her right now, then this was what he would do.

He sighed; it killed him to see Helga in this state. Sure, she was broken when they had met and was healing, but now…he couldn't help but be concerned that she would spiral back down into her addiction. _No,_ no he wouldn't let that happen. He was going to protect Helga, even if it meant protect her from herself.

He adjusted the two of them so Helga's face wasn't against his shirt anymore, but in the crook of his neck. He couldn't take the front of his shirt getting anymore soaked than it already was. Helga's crying seemed to be quieting a little, and he pulled his head back to look at Helga. Her face was swollen from the constant crying. Her eyes were shut, but he could tell they were puffy from her tears.

"…Helga?" He said her name rather quietly; he wasn't sure what talking at this point would do. He didn't know if it would do harm or help.

Helga's grip tightened on his shirt, her knuckles still red from the punches to the wall. She didn't respond. "Helga…"

That was when he heard it…snoring. Helga fell asleep.

He sighed; he couldn't be too surprised after the toll today had taken on her. He eased himself up, holding her in his arms and gently placed her on the bed. He noticed she was still in jeans and changing her clothes crossed his mind but, well, let's face it, Helga's upset, not different. She'd still murder him if he did. He pulled the covers onto her and turned to walk into the bathroom. He propped his hands up on the sink, sighing. He stared at the counter, before looking up in the mirror.

He looked so tired; he was actually rather surprised with how tired. He noticed he was starting to develop bags under his eyes. He really should get some sleep. He brushed his teeth and changed in the bathroom, pulling his shirt on over his head as he walked toward the bed that was next to Helga's. He plopped down on the bed spread eagle, instantly feeling relief from being able to relax.

He pulled the covers over him and rolled over onto his side, staring at Helga's sleeping form before shutting his eyes and finally dozing off.

Helga woke up, feeling around the bed and sat up a bit, wondering where Arnold was. She looked over to see him in the other bed. Oh, she had forgotten there were two in the hotel room. She sleepily pulled the covers off of her and walked over to Arnold's bed, crawling into his bed and lying next to him. Arnold's eyes opened slowly when he felt the bed shift and he saw Helga next to him.

He just gently pulled her into his arms and she rested her head on his chest. Arnold knew by now that this was Helga's silent way of saying she needed him, and he was going to be there for her. He gently stroked her hair for a few times before falling asleep, once he was sure she was asleep too.

Arnold woke up around noon, but stayed lying down, waiting for Helga to wake up. She really needed the rest. After almost an hour of him lying there awake, Helga finally stirred and woke up. She yawned, and rubbed her eyes before looking up at Arnold. "Hey..." She said sleepily.

"Hey. Get a good night's rest?" He said, looking down at her.

She yawned and shrugged. "As good as I could've gotten I guess." She sat up, stretching. "I guess it's too late in the day to try and bump up the flight." She said, leaning forward and raking a hand through her hair.

"Probably, but Helga, I know you've had a rough day yesterday, but did you want to try and do something today to get your mind off of it all?" He asked, moving to the edge of the bed to stand up.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked, popping her head around the corner before she went into the bathroom.

"Well, we could order room service now, and go out to eat later tonight if you'd like. And we could go to a mall nearby if you want."

Helga thought for a moment while she brushed her teeth, it didn't sound like a bad idea. She did need a break, and spending the day with Arnold sounded pleasant enough. She spit in the sink before she answered. "Sure, that sounds nice." She walked out of the bathroom to grab her change of clothes.

"Okay, I'll go ahead and call for room service. Pizza sound okay?"

"Sure, I'll have just cheese on my half." She said before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door. She jumped in the shower, in deep thought as she washed up. Maybe today with Arnold really would help out on her mood. She just wanted things to be easy for her, but of course life didn't work like that. She just hoped that this would be the last colossal bump in the road for a while.

She turned off the water and stepped out, drying her hair quickly and just throwing it up in a ponytail. She threw on her jeans and a t-shirt, not expecting them to go to anything fancy for dinner.

She came out of the bathroom, smelling the pizza as soon as she opened the door. "Smells good." She said, plopping onto the bed. Arnold handed her a paper plate with two slices on it and they started eating.

"So," Helga took a bite. "What did you wanna do at the mall?"

"Well I was thinking I could buy you something."

Helga almost choked on her pizza. "No, no way. You don't need to buy me anything."

Arnold put his hand up. "Don't worry about it; think of it as an early sobriety gift." He smiled at her, taking another bite of his slice.

Helga thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, okay sure. But I'm picking something cheap."

Arnold laughed. "Sounds good."

They finished eating and headed to the mall. They strolled around the various shops, not really saying much to each other. Helga would see a store that she liked every now and again, but wouldn't find anything she liked enough for Arnold to buy for her. She was still iffy about him buying her something, but gave up arguing about it with him.

Helga went in one more store, deciding this was the last one she was going in to. They walked in and she looked around for a few minutes. "This looks nice." Arnold said, taking a nice sundress off the rack. Helga walked over to it and looked at the price tag before snatching it out of his hands and shoving it back on the rack and walking away.

Arnold jogged after her. "What's wrong? You didn't like it?"

"No! It's beautiful! But Arnold," She whipped around to face him. "It's fifty dollars!" She lowered her voice.

Arnold shook his head. "Just try it on." He said before taking it back off the rack and forcing it into her hands. She eyed him before sighing and walking to the dressing room. "Fine, but this is pointless because it's going right back on the rack." She said, opening one of the dressing rooms and stepping in.

Arnold just rolled his eyes and sat down on the chair that was opposite her room. After a few minutes of her fumbling and swearing quietly, she stepped and turned to Arnold. "Well?"

Arnold was surprised. She looked…lovely. The dress hugged everything on her perfectly. He sat in silence as he studied her. He never really took a chance to see the healthy weight that Helga had gained since her sobriety. You couldn't see her collar bone profusely anymore, and her hair looked so much better. The color had seemed to return to her face as well.

"Hello? Earth to Arnoldo!" Helga said, waving a hand in front of Arnold's face. Arnold jumped and looked at Helga. "It looks great." He said, standing up.

"Thanks, but it's still going back on the rack." She said, walking back into the dressing room. She looked at herself in the mirror; she really did like the dress. It was way too much for Arnold to spend on it though, so it had to go back. She couldn't have Arnold spend that much on her; she definitely didn't feel like she deserved it. She came out of the dressing room and put the dress back on the rack and started looking at other clothes.

While Helga wasn't looking however, Arnold slipped the dress to the cashier and bought it behind her back. He'd probably pay for it later, but it would be worth it, because that dress was so pretty on her.

Helga didn't find anything she wanted and they left the store, the bag from the store stuffed carefully in his satchel he was carrying.

They left the mall a little while later, and headed to dinner. They found a small little Mexican restaurant down the street, which was surprisingly good. They finished their meal and took to-go boxes with them back to the hotel. Arnold figured he'd surprise her with the dress tonight when they got back to the hotel. It was better to give it to her sooner rather than later anyways.

They got to the hotel and Helga needed to use the restroom, so he figured that'd be perfect timing to set the dress on her bed. He fumbled with his satchel and quickly fished the dress out of the bag and set it on her bed before sitting on his, trying to act nonchalant. He started messing with his phone when Helga came out of the bathroom.

She stopped next to her bed, quickly noticing the dress on the bed. "What is that?" She asked, pointing to the dress.

"Hm, what's what?" He asked, acting like he knew nothing about it.

"This," She picked up the dress and walked closer to Arnold. "Why is this here?"

Arnold set his phone down and looked up at her. "Maybe I bought it for you anyways, because you looked nice in it." He said, smiling.

Helga's eye seemed to twitch before she tossed the dress back onto her bed. "Dammit Arnold, I told you it was too expensive!" She said, clearly angry. "I didn't want you to spend money on me, let alone that much!" She tossed her hands up, exasperated.

"Whoa, hey, why are you getting so mad? I was trying to do something nice for you Helga." He said, sitting on the edge of his bed. He tried to take hold of her hand but she snatched it away.

"I'm mad because I told you not to buy it and you did anyways. It was too expensive!" She huffed; she couldn't believe he bought it behind her back.

Arnold suddenly stood up and walked towards Helga. "Helga, I bought that dress because _I_ wanted to buy it for _you._ It's a gift."

Helga glared up at him. "I told you not to buy it Arnold, I'm not worth it." She said, looking down at the ground, her eyes suddenly sad.

Arnold was taken aback by this sudden change in demeanor from her. "What do you mean you're not worth it? Helga, you're worth a fifty dollar dress, trust me. You looked beautiful in it." He tried to reason with her.

Helga sighed. "You don't understand Arnold; I'm not worth that, I don't deserve it. I've done absolutely nothing to deserve anything you've done for me…" She turned around, about ready to cry.

Arnold was surprised. Where was this coming from? "Helga…" He gently took hold of her chin and turned her to face him again. "You more than deserve it. I wanted to help you from the start, and I wanted to buy you that dress." Helga stared up at him, not saying anything.

Arnold sighed, she obviously wasn't getting it. "I like doing nice things for you Helga. I love being around you, hearing you laugh and having a good time with you. I want to make sure you're comfortable with me, in my home."

Helga still said nothing, just watched him.

"Helga, I…" He took her face in his hands gently and turned her head up to make better eye contact with him.

"I love you."

_***AAAAAAAAAAAAAND FINALLY IT'S HERE! THE GRAND CONFESSION! YAAAAY! I got all giddy typing up this chapter because I knew exactly how I wanted it to end (: and no, I don't mean the end to the story, just the chapter :P Did I scare you? hahaha. Sorry it's been a couple days guys, practice has been killing me. I don't know if I ever brought this up but I play roller derby and sometimes it takes quite a toll on me and I was mentally and physically exhausted. BUT! no more practice until Sunday (so that's good news for you guys) and a new chapter will hopefully be up within a few days! Thank you guys as always for following this story. I'm going to try and extend it as much as I can, but unfortunately I'm running out of ideas for it, I don't want to drag it out and bore you guys, and that's what I'm nervous is going to happen if I keep up a bunch more chapters. BUT I will FOR SURE be making an alternate universe one once this is finished (: comments, reviews and questions as usual 3 Thanks guys! (:***_


	13. Chapter 13: Baby Steps

Helga's heart stopped for a second. _What did he just say?_

Her eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her skull as she stared at him, his hands still holding her face.

Arnold searched her eyes, waiting for her to say something. He sighed, getting nervous now. "Helga please, at least say something…" He said quietly, feeling like maybe he shouldn't have said anything now.

Helga stayed silent still; she really didn't know what to say to this.

Arnold sighed, letting go of her face and sitting on the bed. "Sorry, just forget I said it." He said, almost disappointed. He wasn't expecting a tear-filled confession from her, but…nothing? Nothing at all? It really was a bad idea to tell her.

He noticed Helga suddenly standing in front of him and his face shot up in surprise. She was looking down at him, her face shining in the light like she had started crying. She bent down and got extremely close to him, he could feel the heat from her face.

"Helga what-" He was cut off by Helga leaning in and closing the gap between them with a kiss, a rather rough one at that. It definitely caught Arnold off guard. His breath hitched in his throat as Helga pushed forward, causing him to lean back onto the bed. Whoa, where was this coming from?

Helga put more weight on Arnold as she propped herself up over top of him. Arnold entangled his hands in her hair. He didn't know the sudden assertion from Helga, but he didn't need to know, and quite frankly he couldn't care less.

He rolled over so he was now on top of Helga as they continued their heated lip lock. Arnold gently began lifting up Helga's shirt, but she flinched and quickly grabbed his hand, stopping him. Arnold broke the kiss and looked at her in confusion.

That was when he noticed the almost panicked look in her eyes. She franticly shook her head, and that was when he realized she was scared.

"Helga…I'm not like him. You know that." He said, touching her cheek.

Helga stared at him, not saying anything. She still seemed to be nervous.

"Please Helga, let me love you. That's all I want to do."

Helga's scared face seemed to melt away and she quickly pulled Arnold's head down into an even deeper kiss before, a silent permission.

The next day

Helga slowly stirred in bed, quickly annoyed as to why the hell she was weighed down to the bed. She turned her head as much as she could to see Arnold dead asleep, half way lying on her body. Oh, that's right.

She had forgotten about last night. But…it was, nice. Arnold meant what he said and he was nothing like her ex. She no longer hated even the thought about having sex, as long as it was with Arnold of course. She was drawn out of her fond thoughts by a very loud snort that came from Arnold. Great…now he's snoring.

"Hey, hey. Football head!" She pinched his nostrils shut to wake him and he quickly jumped in his sleep, sleepily looking at her, confused. "You were snoring, and loud at that." She said, shooting him a dirty look.

Arnold chuckled, taking his arm and half of his leg off of her before pulling her into his arms and kissing her. "Sorry. I'm tired from last night." He teased, before getting a swift hit from Old Betsy and Arnold gingerly rubbed his arm. "I'm just teasing, be nice!"

Helga sat up, pulling the sheets up to her chest and gesturing for Arnold to turn around. He stared at her, thinking she was joking and when he noticed she clearly wasn't he snorted. "You're serious?"

"Yes, turn around." She demanded.

Arnold just rolled his eyes before turning around so she could stand up. She threw on her pajama pants and a t-shirt she found on the floor before going into the bathroom and shutting the door.

She brushed her teeth and spit in the sink, looking up in the mirror and noticed how rustled her hair was. Man, she should probably take a brush to it. She stared at herself in the mirror before smiling and hugging herself for a moment.

She never would've imagined her life being here, in this moment. She wasn't even upset about Miriam right now. How could she be? She just…well, yeah. It still seemed strange that last night had gone the way it did, it was definitely unexpected.

She brushed her hair and walked out of the bathroom. Arnold was already dressed, ready to head out for their flight.

Helga gathered her things as well and threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top with a pair of flip flops, knowing how airport security is.

They went through everything rather easily and landed at the airport.

Arnold carried the bags inside into the boarding house hallway, much to Helga's objection.

Helga grumpily snatched up her things and tossed them in her room. She stepped out of her room and was caught by Arnold, who gave her a swift kiss on the cheek before trudging upstairs and leaving a flustered Helga in the hall.

Just then her phone rang, it was Phoebe. "Hey Pheebs. We just got back." She said, shutting her door.

"Hi Helga! Oh, that's great! You sound rather…happy though? After the week's events? I'm terribly sorry about your mom…"

"It's okay; I punched Bob in the face in the hospital though."

"Oh Helga, you didn't!" Phoebe groaned over the phone.

"I did Pheebs. He pissed me off." She shrugged, switching the phone to her other ear.

"Oh, well seeing as that's something that's _so hard to do_ I'm sure he deserved it." She said sarcastically.

"Hey, hey. Shut it, but that's not the only thing that happened on the trip…" She said opening the door to her room and trotting in, shutting it behind her.

"…what do you mean?" Phoebe's curiosity was obviously peaked now.

"…Well…me and Arnold sort of…um." She whispered into the phone.

"YOU WHAT?!" Phoebe shouted, making Helga juggle her phone and taking it back to her ear.

"I know…crazy right?" Helga said, she could feel the heat building in her cheeks.

"I can't believe it! You and Arnold! I'm happy for you Helga!"

Helga smiled over the phone. "Thanks Pheebs…"

"But I have to ask…_please_ tell me you two used protection."

Helga froze over the phone. _Oh shit…_ she didn't even think about that.

The silence from Helga was enough of an answer for Phoebe and she groaned. "Helga…"

"I didn't think about it!" Helga sighed in frustration. "Well, shit."

"Hey, not to worry. The chances of you being pregnant are-"

"PHOEBE! You are SO not helping here!"

"Sorry, sorry! Hanging up now! Bye Helga!" Phoebe hung up and left a semi-nervous Helga in her room alone.

Arnold set his things down in his room when his phone rang as well. Gerald.

"Hey Gerald, what's up?"

"Hey man! I heard about Helga's mom, how's she holding up?"

Arnold unzipped his suitcase. "She's doing okay. The trip ended up being pretty pleasant." Arnold smiled.

"…what do you mean by 'pleasant?'" Gerald asked, now suspicious.

Arnold sighed; his best friend was going to find out anyways. "Helga and I…well-"

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN OH MAN! Don't tell me you did the dirty with HELGA G. PATAKI!" Gerald yelled over the phone.

Arnold pulled his phone away from his ear while his friend yelled.

"Yeah, we did. Look Gerald, as much as I love talking about sex with you, and I really do. I have to go. I've gotta unpack."

"You're a bold kid Arnold! But I'll talk to you later. Go have some fun!" He teased. Arnold hung up the phone and laughed, shaking his head. His friend sure had a way with words.

A month went by and Arnold and Helga were rather happy with their new found relationship. She had started staying in Arnold's room and had started working at the Café on the corner. Arnold had started school back up so he wasn't home much in the day, seeing as he had his internship still as well.

Helga had gotten up early in the morning before work to eat some breakfast before work. She just cooked up some scrambled eggs with toast and sat down. She stared at the eggs for a moment and seemed to feel nauseous. That was weird. She shook it from her mind and dug in.

After a few chews she slowed, staring at her plate. She jerked forward, feeling vomit rise up in her throat. She charged for the trash can and started throwing up. She threw up three or four times before leaning on the trash can, breathing heavily. What the hell was wrong with her?

_Wait…_come to think of it, she had been feeling a little nauseous the past few days.

…When was her last period anyways?

She did the math in her head and the color drained from her face.

_Oh shit…_

She started panicking before stopping. She needed to stop. She would be fine; she was only three weeks late, that wasn't that bad, right?

She needed to calm down and go to work. And…maybe pick up a pregnancy test on her way home. Just to be safe.

She finished her shift at work and begrudgingly went to the drug store, picking up a pregnancy test and then heading home.

She set the pregnancy test down and waited like it said, pacing the bathroom in impatience.

The time allotted had finally passed and she snatched the test up, eyeballing it quickly. Two pink lines…what the hell did two pink lines mean? She picked up the box and checked before the box and the positive test fell out of her hands.

The color drained from her face. _No…no no no no no._

Her legs seemed to turn to Jell-O as her knees went weak and she sunk to the floor. She leaned up against the wall, beginning to cry. She wasn't ready for this. There was no way in hell she was!

And what was Arnold going to say about it? Oh Arnold, oh no. What if he would be mad?

She buried her face in her knees. She wouldn't be able to handle him leaving over this.

She shuddered, before stopping crying for a moment. No, she needed to have faith in him. She knew deep down he'd never leave her over something like this.

How was she going to tell him?

She buried her face back into her knees, beginning to cry again as more panic built up inside of her.

She felt nausea build up again and she lunged for the toilet, throwing up repeatedly.

She coughed and wiped her mouth, tears still streaming down her face. She sunk back down onto the tile, holding herself as she felt her body jerk from her sobs.

**_*I'M SO SORRY! ugh...I know this is delayed. Forgive me! Work was murder this past week, I had to pick up several shifts because SURPRISE! My personal property tax reared its ugly head and I totally forgot that it was coming. But at least I had a good reason, so hopefully you all can find it in your heart to forgive me ): _**

**_But anywhos, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. HOLY CRAP. Helga's preggers. How's she gonna hold up? A better question...how's Arnold gonna react? What do you guys think? Do you like where this is going? And I decided I'm going to keep this story going as much as I can, because I can tell you guys are very adamant about me keeping it up, so just for y'all I'm going to (: LOVE Y'ALL! As always, you guys know what to do :D*_**


	14. Chapter 14: Pain

Arnold opened the door to the boarding house and tossed his keys onto the side table. "Helga?" He shrugged off his jacket, hanging it up.

There was no response…that was weird. Normally he heard 'hey there football head' or even 'hey baby' if she was in a _really_ good mood.

"Helga? Baby?" He called down the hall again. Still no answer, what on earth was she doing?  
He checked the kitchen, no sign of her.

He headed up the stairs and checked in their room, still no sign of Helga. Where on earth was she? Maybe she was in her old bedroom? He opened that door, nope.

He was about to call her when he heard sniffling coming from her bathroom. He hustled quickly to the door and jerked it open, looking around and seeing no Helga, until he heard a sob. He looked down, his eyes resting on Helga, who was a mess crying on the floor, throw up in the toilet.

"Jeez, Helga!" He knelt down quickly, taking her face in his hands. "What's wrong? Do you have the stomach flu?" He put his hand on her head. "You're running a fever!" He sounded almost frantic, why didn't she call him from work if she was this sick?

She sniffed. "It's not the stomach flu Arnold…" She wiped her nose with her forearm before looking at Arnold, hesitating.

"I'm…I'm _pregnant._"

Time seemed to slow down for Arnold. _Pregnant?_ Helga? Those words rang in his head.

"…Oh…" Was all that Arnold could manage to get out.

"…Oh?!" Helga choked. "I just tell you the craziest shit ever and all you can say is OH?!" She practically yelled.

Arnold held up his hands. "Helga calm down, it just…surprised me."

"Surprised _you?!_ How do you think I feel?!" Helga put both of her hands on her stomach. "I'm not ready for this, I'm not!" She began to panic. "I'm not even fit to be a mother!"

Arnold stopped her by covering her mouth with his hand gently. "Helga, you stop right now. Don't you dare talk like that." He warned. "I'm not ready for this either, but you'd make a great mother."

Helga went to speak again, but he held his hand up again to hush her. "We have to accept this, and I have faith we'll do fine." He put his hand over hers on her stomach. "We have a home and we have proper finances, we'll do just fine Helga." He soothed, kissing her on the forehead.

Helga sighed, she guessed Arnold was right. "But Arnold…we have _no_ idea how to properly raise a child. You didn't even grow up with your parents, and I'm not exactly from a perfect home…"

"So that just means we know what _not_ to do." He smoothed her hair back and looked at her.

"We can do this, we'll get through it." He gave her a reassuring smile.

Helga searched his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Okay."

Arnold gave her a quick peck before standing and helping her up off of the tile floor.

"There's an obstetrician at the hospital, we can make an appointment with them soon. I'll go call them right now." He said, giving Helga's hand a comforting squeeze before leaving the bathroom and heading upstairs. Helga stood in the restroom for a moment, in thought. Maybe she should call Phoebe and tell her the news.

Arnold headed upstairs and set the appointment with the doctor. He ended the call and plopped down on the bed, sighing. He was nervous about this, but didn't want Helga to see it, lest she'd worry more and stress out.

He knew they wouldn't have to worry about finances or enough room, but Helga had a point. Both of them had come from homes that didn't have the greatest parental environment. Sure, he had his grandmother and grandfather, but his actual parents weren't in the picture.

And clearly Helga's idea of parents was awful.

But he knew deep down they'd be okay. This was just a new chapter in both of their lives. They may not have been ready for it, but they'd be alright.

Helga got an earful from Phoebe on the phone, but before the call ended it turned into a rather positive one, Phoebe helping to reassure her that they'd be okay, and that she wouldn't make the same mistakes her parents made. Helga hung up the phone, smiling now.

Sure, she was still a little scared, but she knew that with Arnold they could be good parents.

Arnold had called Gerald also, hearing a lot of 'oh mans' and 'you're a bold guy' of course. But eventually he warmed up to Arnold having a kid, and they ended on a good note over the phone.

Arnold headed downstairs to find where Helga went. She was sitting in the kitchen, still in thought.

"We've got an appointment with Dr. Flint in two weeks." He sat down next to her, gauging her mood.

Helga just nodded.

Arnold knew that she wished it was sooner, as if reading her thoughts. "It's the earliest she could do."

Helga didn't really respond, but she shut her eyes for a second, her head reeling a bit from the morning sickness. "Maybe I should lie down for a little while and try to get this nausea to go the hell away." She grunted, resting her hand on her forehead.

"That's not a bad idea. Why don't you just go to bed for the night?" He looked at his phone's clock. "It's already 7:30 anyways."

Helga shrugged. "I guess." She pushed her chair out and stood up.

Arnold followed her up the stairs to say goodnight to her. He sat down on his computer to check his e-mail while she changed into pajamas.

He eyed her out of the corner of his eye while she changed. Helga had started going to the gym with him so was significantly in better shape that she was a month or two ago. Not to mention she had gotten some meat on her bones.

He pictured her stomach round with a baby in it rather fondly for a moment. Maybe this wasn't going to be so crazy after all.

Helga groggily crawled into bed, yanking the covers up to her neck before looking at Arnold and patting the empty space next to her in the bed. "I know you're tired too Football Head."

Arnold was tired now that she had mentioned it. He yawned, she was right. He should really go to bed too.

He changed and slid into bed next to her, hoisting her up onto his chest and gently rubbing her head so she'd fall asleep. Helga dozed off and was soon nuzzling his neck while she quietly snored.

Arnold laughed to himself; hopefully the baby wouldn't have her sleeping habits.

The appointment for the baby came and went, everything checking out alright and Helga was definitely pregnant. They went to the check-ups every time they came up, and were beginning to paint the nursery.

Helga had warmed up to the thought of becoming a mother just as she was rolling into her second month of her pregnancy.

Arnold was of course calm and collected throughout.

He had even suggested them painting the nursery in the first place.

Helga had the day off from the café and was finishing up some of the painting in the nursery while she was listening to some music. She strolled around singing the words while she poured some more paint. Arnold was at the hospital working in the emergency room today with Dr. Witz, and Helga knew he wouldn't be home anytime soon, so she figured she may as well get the painting done on her day off.

Helga took a break to make some lunch for herself. She had been getting some pretty bad cramps in her stomach throughout the morning, but didn't think much of it. She had felt a little weaker too, but she had just shrugged it off. 'Just a bad day to be pregnant' she grumbled.

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain, worse than her cramps. She dropped what was in her hands and propped her arms against the counter as she groaned in pain, feeling it rack through her abdominal area.

She had never felt a pain like this before, this wasn't right.

She felt her legs start to shake when she started to feel weak again.

She continued to brace herself on the counter, waiting for the pain to pass so she could go about her day and finish the nursery.

Ow…the pain wasn't letting up one bit. If anything, it was getting worse.

"Ah!" She yelled as her legs gave out and she slumped down to the floor.

Suddenly, she felt something wet between her legs.

"What…the fuck…?" She groaned. She pulled herself up and painfully dragged herself to the bathroom. Maybe she just really had to go.

She leaned against the sink again, bracing for the pain.

She noticed her pink shorts were spotting with blood between her legs.

_What the…._

She touched the blood and brought it up to her eyes to see if it wasn't just a hallucination.

No…that was real blood, and it was really on her fingers.

Her hands began shaking when the realization of what was happening sank in.

_Oh no…_

She had to call Arnold. She pulled her phone out of her shirt and dialed his number.

He answered after two short rings. "Hey baby, how are you-"

"Arnold, I need you to come get me. NOW!"

There was silence over the phone before he said something to Dr. Witz. "I'll be there in ten minutes." Before he hung up.

Helga shakily tossed her phone to the floor before finally crying from the pain that was slowly becoming more potent.

She stared up at the ceiling, trying to focus on something else while Arnold was on his way.

She hoped what she was thinking was happening to her wasn't, but what she was feeling right now was none too comforting or disagreeing.

She brought her shaky hands to her stomach while she felt tears slowly inch down her face.

She prayed Arnold would know what this was and just tell her it was normal, but she knew that this wasn't the case.

She may have never been pregnant before, but she knew what was happening to her right now, to the baby.

_She was having a miscarriage._

_***I know I know it's a shorter chapter. I'm sorry, busy busy week right now. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Man...it's getting rough in their relationship, huh? As soon as things start to look up there's another bump in the road. How will our lovely couple beat the odds this time? How is Helga going to handle this? What do you guys think? And I'm still on the fence with how much longer I can keep this story up, just because I don't want it to become unrealistically dramatic. But like I said, I'm definitely doing the alternate universe story, which I'm pretty excited about posting for you guys! I'm not starting that until this story comes to a close though, that way my thoughts won't get jumbled and everything. As always, leave questions, comments, and reviews. Love you guys!***_


	15. Chapter 15: Stand By You

Arnold drove the car as quickly as he could. He had recently bought a little car for when the baby was born so he was taking it to and from work for now.

He raced through the streets, just barely avoiding running red lights.

He silently prayed in his mind that this was nothing serious, but Helga wouldn't just call for silly cramps or wanting him to pick up something for her. This clearly was serious.

He could feel his hands start to sweat just as soon as he pulled up to the boarding house, tires squealing as he hit the brakes. He ran inside, throwing the door wide open to find Helga.

He checked the bathroom first on a whim and found Helga holding her stomach on the ground in the middle of the bathroom floor. He quickly helped her up, noticing how clammy she felt.

"Helga, what's wrong?" He asked in a rushed voice, hoping he didn't have to take her to the hospital.

"Arnold…" She held her weight on his arm, feeling weaker. She took a pained breath before looking at him, teary eyed.

"I think I'm having a miscarriage."

That was all Arnold needed to hear before he slung Helga up into his arms and rushed her into the car, delicately setting her in the passenger seat and reclining the seat back so she wouldn't be too uncomfortable. Helga groaned, taking the towel she had snatched up when Arnold picked her up and she set it under her so blood wouldn't get on the seat.

Arnold ran back around the car and hopped into the driver's side and starting the car. The car jerked forward when he hit the accelerator. Helga gripped the side of the door, pain shooting through her abdomen again. Arnold felt his heart drop when he heard a whimper escape from her.

He pulled up to the hospital, tires squealing again. One of the attendants angrily ran out to fuss at him for speeding into the hospital lot, but stopped when she realized it was Arnold.

"What's going on Arnold?" She said in a clearly worried tone.

He looked at her and opened the passenger door, revealing a pained Helga who was pale, and blood was staining the towel she was sitting on.

"Oh no." She said, quickly running in and giving word to the doctor on call. Helga was quickly pulled into the hospital and set in a wheelchair, Arnold in tow.

The doctor did all that she could for Helga, but after some time, Dr. Flint came into the room, obviously troubled.

Arnold was holding Helga's hand, sitting next to the bed. He looked up to Dr. Flint, knowing what she was about to say.

"I'm sorry…" she said, looking at the two of them. "We did everything we could…but there's no heart beat."

Helga's breath hitched, trying not to cry.

"I'm so sorry for you both." She said, and it was true, she really had wished they could've saved the baby. "These things happen sometimes…and we don't always know why."

Helga and Arnold just looked at each other, and she felt his grip tighten on her hand.

"We'd like to keep you here for a few hours and then you'll be cleared to go home." She said, taking her clipboard off of the hanger and leaving them alone in the room.

Arnold stayed quiet, for once not having anything reassuring to say. What could he say in a situation like this?

Helga just wiggled her hand free of his grip and rolled on her side, facing away from him. She didn't want to feel any human contact right now, and Arnold didn't argue it, just set his head down and shut his eyes.

Arnold and Helga left the hospital around six at night; the sun was just starting to set.

He drove them home, neither of them saying anything. They pulled up to the boarding house in silence.

Arnold helped a sore Helga out of the car and up to the front door.

When they made it inside, Helga made her way achingly up the stairs to the bedroom with Arnold close behind to make sure she didn't stumble on her way up.

He opened the door for her and she slowly went over to her dresser to change clothes.

Arnold plopped down onto the bed, leaning forward and running his hands through his hair. He was so sad, he was really getting used to soon becoming a father, and he felt like it had been ripped from his grip just as quickly as it had come. And he knew Helga was beating herself up over it. He noticed small drops of water falling onto his jeans and he looked up to see Helga, looking down at him, crying.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Arnold felt his lip begin to quiver and his eyes tear up. He finally let out a small cough as he started crying too. He gently took Helga's arms and pulled her into a tight hug and moved them into the middle of the bed while he held her, both of them crying.

They didn't say anything, and they didn't need to. Today was a tough day for them both. Arnold pulled her in his embrace a little tighter and Helga winced from her soreness.

"…Arnold…too tight." She said in a muffled voice in his shirt.

He reluctantly loosened his grip on her, kissing her forehead in a silent apology.

They lay there a little while longer before Arnold noticed that Helga had fallen asleep.

He slowly and quietly inched his way off of the bed to change clothes. He opened the drawers as quietly as he could to get his pajama pants out and finally managed to after a few tries.

He changed into his pajamas and sighed, running his hand through his hair.

He noticed his face was a little puffy from his tears.

Man, he hadn't cried since his grandparents died. He had forgotten how sore his face always felt afterwards.

He looked to the bed and watched Helga while she slept, seeing her face was a little puffy as well.

It broke his heart knowing that there was nothing either one of them could've done to prevent this.

Unfortunately Helga and Arnold were a part of the percentage that suffered from an unexplainable miscarriage.

Dr. Flint even went into deep explanation on how there was truly nothing they could've done to prevent it from happening.

She felt the need to make that very clear to them, especially Helga, and Arnold was extremely glad that she had taken the time to tell them both.

As hard as the situation was, being told that it was beyond their control was rather comforting to him, because they had done everything correct and pretty much by the book.

And he knew that Helga hearing it from the doctor that she couldn't have done anything would really sink in instead of him saying it to her.

He knew that Helga was still in pain though. He might have been upset, but Helga had been actually carrying the child, and he in no way could know how that feels.

He rubbed his eyes, yawning.

Just as he was about to crawl back in bed, Helga stirred in her sleep and rolled over, her eyes opening tiredly.

Her eyes searched the empty part of the bed where Arnold should've been, before she looked up and saw him standing there.

"…Hey." She said in a tired, raspy voice.

"Hey…" He said quietly.

Helga stretched her arm out from under the covers and patted the empty part of the bed.

"Come back to bed…" She said in a voice that sounded like a plea.

Arnold's heart sunk at the way she asked him to come back to bed and he was there in a heartbeat, pulling the covers back up over the both of them.

He faced Helga, staring at her.

"I'm so sore…" She mumbled in a pained voice.

Arnold gently stroked her hair in comfort. "Shh…I know. Go back to sleep baby." He urged.

He kissed her forehead and started gently stroking her back, lulling her back to sleep.

Helga's eyes slowly started to shut again and before he knew it, quiet snoring began filling the room.

He sighed; knowing tomorrow was going to be even harder because the reality was going to sink in for the both of them more than it already had.

He continued to stroke Helga's back in thought. He really hoped that Helga would cope with this alright. Sure, he knew it wasn't going to be easy for her, but he was worried that she'd just blame herself, even though Dr. Flint and Arnold reassured her it most certainly wasn't her fault.

But he knew Helga, and Helga took everything to heart. Not to mention she was stubborn.

But that was what he loved about her, and suddenly he felt his heart warm up a bit. They would get through this. And who knows? Maybe in the near future they could try again for a baby, and actually be ready for it.

He needed to sleep, and calm his racing mind. He shook his thoughts away and shut his eyes, finally falling asleep.

Arnold woke up before Helga as usual, and stretched a little, trying not to wake her. He yawned, resting his hand on Helga's head and gently running his hand through her hair.

He sat there for a few moments before sighing, he needed to get up. He gently eased Helga off of his chest and pulled the cover back over her. He watched her sleeping form for a moment before bending down and kissing her forehead, heading downstairs.

Helga woke up later. She clutched the covers with her fist, not wanting to get up. She just wanted to stay in bed. She rolled over and looked at the clock; it was almost three in the afternoon. She sighed; there was no point in getting up. She was aching. She rolled back over and faced the wall again, trying to fall back asleep.

Arnold came up around four in the afternoon because Helga still hadn't come downstairs.

He quietly opened the door, peering in. Helga was still in bed, turned over. He knew she had a rough day, so let her be. He shut the door again and went back downstairs. He called up Gerald, not knowing what else to do at the moment. He needed to talk to him.

Gerald answered after a couple rings. "Hey man! How's it going?" He said happily.

"Hey Gerald."

Gerald could sense something was wrong with Arnold. "…You alright Arnold?"

"I've been better Gerald. Helga…we lost the baby yesterday." Arnold rubbed the side of his head, dreading talking about it.

Gerald didn't say anything for a moment. "Damn…"

Arnold stayed quiet for a second. "Yeah, I know. Helga hasn't gotten out of bed since."

"I mean…damn man, I really have no idea what to say. I'm really sorry to hear that."

Arnold shrugged, holding the phone. "Nothing you could've done, but hey I got to go check on Helga again. I'll call when I can."

"Okay Arnold, I hope she'll be alright. I'll talk to you later." They hung up the phone and Arnold looked at the clock on his phone, it was almost five.

He decided to make him and Helga something to eat. He cooked something up and went upstairs with Helga's plate. He opened the door, and she was in the exact same place he found her earlier. "Helga? I brought up dinner for you."

No response. He pursed his lips, setting down the plate on the nightstand next to the bed. "It's here if you want it…" He said, almost sad. He kissed her on the cheek and she still didn't respond.

Helga wasn't sleeping, but she still didn't want to move. Arnold sighed, heading back downstairs.

Helga didn't get out of bed for almost four days, and didn't speak to Arnold. He continued to leave food on the nightstand, which she'd take two bites of before leaving it.

Arnold was concerned, but didn't want to press it because he knew this was how she was coping with it.

After the fourth day though, he decided he needed to get her out of bed, pronto.

He head up the stairs, opening the bedroom door. "Helga, baby?" He said, poking his head in. Still in bed, no surprise. He walked in, sitting down on the edge of the bed and touching Helga's cheek.

"Baby, you've got to get out of bed." He urged, moving her hair out of her face. Helga's eyes were open, but she wasn't looking at him.

He sighed, how could he get her out of bed?

He had an idea just then, and went over to his computer and turned it on, going into his music player. He pulled up one of his favorite songs and a piano started filling the room. He turned up the volume and went over to the bed, sitting back down.

"Arnold…" Her voice was raspy from not speaking for a few days. "Turn it off…"

Arnold didn't listen to her; instead he moved the covers off of her and gently pulled her up into his arms and set her feet on the floor as the band started singing.

"Arnold please…" She was begging now, she didn't know what he was doing, but she just wanted to retreat back to the bed. Arnold didn't listen though; he pulled up so she'd stand.

_It breaks my heart, to see you cry._

Helga's tired eyes looked up at him, what was he doing?

_I know it's dark, this part of life._

Before Helga knew it she was being spun by Arnold.

"Arnold…!" She said in surprise when she spun back into his arms.

"Stop talking and just listen to the song Helga." He said, pulling her close and just swaying back and forth.

Helga, still surprised, clumsily followed his steps, not saying anything.

_Oh I'm gonna hold you, and I won't let go._

The song ended and Arnold stopped, looking down at Helga.

"…What was that all about?" She asked, clearly confused. But she had her normal attitude in her voice, and Arnold smiled, there was the spark again.

He gave a soft peck on the lips. "It got you out of bed, didn't it?" He smirked, satisfied with his plan working.

Helga laughed, shaking her head before looking back up at him. "You are so cheesy Football Head." She said, and before he could protest, she pulled him into another kiss.

When the kiss broke, Arnold smiled. "So does this mean you're going to finally get out of bed?" He teased.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Arnold laughed. "Good, because you need a shower. And brushing your teeth would be heaven on earth for me." He teased before dodging a punch from 'Ol Betsy.

"Well…" Helga suddenly got an idea. "You know…we could always save water and take one together." She made small circles on his shoulder and Arnold eyed her for a moment.

"Oh really now?" He asked, clearly interested.

Suddenly he was pushed onto the bed by Helga and she ran down the staircase, laughing. "Of course not Football Head! You're so gullible!" He heard her laughter as she shut the bathroom door downstairs.

**_*here it is! yay! had to end this chapter on a happier note. And how else to close it with a perverted, teasing Helga? hurr de hurr hurr. Anyways, next chapter will be up soon so as always... QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, REVIEWS! Love y'all (: oh and by the way, the song that Arnold plays is I Will Stand By You by Rascall Flatts. gotta love cheesy Arnold teehee*_**


	16. Chapter 16: Reminiscing

"Football Head, would you just tell me where the hell we're going?" Helga groaned, being dragged around the city by Arnold.

"Nope, you're not ruining the surprise because you're nosey." He teased, holding her hand and gently tugging her around to where they were going.

Helga rolled her eyes in annoyance, she just wanted to know, why did it have to be a stinking surprise?

Arnold finally saw what he was looking for, bright, colorful lights and music.

Helga heard the music and was trying to figure out where he was taking her.

Three weeks had gone by since things had become normal again for them since the miscarriage, and Arnold was continuously bending over backwards to keep her happy. It warmed Helga's heart, knowing that Arnold would do anything to keep her happy, and that kept away the dark clouds that had begun to form after the miscarriage.

Arnold smiled when they finally reached where he was taking her and stopped in front of a small carnival. Helga eyed him suspiciously before she looked to the carnival, a bit surprised.

This was the carnival from when they were kids.

"Arnold…" She said, happily surprised. It was a cute gesture.

"I figured we could reminisce." He smiled, squeezing her hand gently.

Helga smiled, before giving him a sideways glance. "Race you to the Tilt o' Whirl." She said before taking off into the carnival, Arnold chasing after her, laughing.

They rode a couple of the rides, avoiding the ferris wheel because they wanted to save that for last.

Arnold had won Helga a cute little lion from one of the stands. She had to carry it around though, much to her annoyance, but didn't complain too much because it was something Arnold won for her.

Arnold pulled his phone out of his pocket, seeing that it was almost ten at night. "Did you want to go ahead and ride the ferris wheel? It's getting pretty late." He looked at Helga, who was staring off into the crowd, looking a bit caught off guard. "Helga?"

Helga stared into the crowd, she knew he saw him, she knew it. There was no way she'd forget his face.

"Helga? Babe?" Arnold gave Helga's hand that he was holding a light shake to get her attention.

Helga jumped, snapping out of it. "Huh? What?"

Arnold eyed her for a moment. "I said did you want to ride the ferris wheel…are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." He stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"I'm fine Football Head, and yeah let's go." She said smiling.

As they walked towards the ferris wheel, Helga made one backwards glance, looking for him again, but he wasn't there. She turned back around; maybe it was just her imagination.

What was she thinking? There was no way he'd be in Hillwood. She just needed to calm down and enjoy the night with Arnold.

They stood in line for a short while before sitting down on the ferris wheel and it starting to lift them. After a few stops to let others on, they finally halted at the top.

Arnold had his arm draped around Helga as they stared out to the water.

The ferris wheel had seemed to of been placed in the most perfect spot, rising just enough above the buildings so it could overlook the water.

Arnold looked over at Helga, who was mesmerized by the view. She looked over at him and leaned onto him.

"Thank you for this Arnold. Tonight was…needed." She said, leaning her face up and kissing his chin.

Arnold smiled, rubbing her shoulder. "Anything for you Helga, you know that." He said, planting a kiss on her hair.

They sat in silence, just staring out to the water before they were lowered back down to unload.

"Ready to head home?" Arnold asked, helping her out of the seat.

Helga nodded. "Sure, I'm pretty tired." She said, taking his hand and hopping down.

They started walking to the exit. "Well, save some energy for later tonight." Arnold winked, leaning down and playfully biting her ear.

Helga jumped, feeling her cheeks flush and her face fill with heat. "Arnold Shortman!" She hissed in a flustered tone, giving him a light punch to the arm. Arnold laughed, pulling her close as they walked.

"I'm just teasing Helga." He said, sliding his hand off of her hip and easing his hand into hers as they continued to walk home.

When they reached the boarding house, Arnold opened up the door and Helga walked in, shutting it behind them. He took off his jacket and hung it up, reaching for Helga's as well and hanging it next to his.

Helga was fumbling through the mail, tossing the junk into the trash. Bills, bills, bills, nothing else of interest. She held onto the bills so they could send the money tomorrow. "The phone bill and car payment are due next week." She said, heading upstairs and Arnold right behind her.

Arnold started changing into his pajamas while Helga brushed her hair, changing afterwards.

Helga climbed into the bed and messed with her phone, setting an alarm while Arnold sat on his computer for a few minutes, checking his e-mail and shutting it down.

Helga was playing a game on her phone when she felt movement at the foot of the bed. She lifted her phone up to see movement under the sheets. Her eyebrow rose while she watched the form creep closer to her under the covers.

Suddenly she was sucked under the covers, laughing.

Arnold yanked her under the comforter, tickling her.

"Arnold, knock it off!" She laughed. "You've got work tomorrow and it's late!" She curled in a ball, trying to avoid being tickled more.

Arnold chuckled before stopping and kissing her on the neck. "It's only 11:30." He teased, inching his hand up her shirt and rubbing her side. His thumb brushed against her ribs and she tensed up.

Arnold felt her tense up and looked up from kissing her neck, looking confused. Helga shook her head, looking almost alarmed. "I…I can't Arnold." She said in almost a frantic tone.

"Hey…" He said, taking his hand off her side and stroking her cheek. "It's okay Helga. I understand. Don't be upset baby; I don't want it to ruin our nice night." He said, kissing her cheek.

Helga sighed, relieved. Helga and Arnold hadn't slept together since the miscarriage, mainly because Helga was scared. She didn't want to relive that situation. Arnold understood of course, never pushing it further when she rejected his advances.

Arnold simply lay down next to her, pulling Helga onto him slightly so she could rest her head on his chest. "I'm not mad Helga, so don't overthink it." He said, knowing what was running through her mind. Arnold knew her ticks and tendencies so well at this point he could say it almost before she even thought it.

Helga laughed, resting her hand on his chest. "So now you can read my mind, huh Football Head?" She teased, eyeing him.

Arnold chuckled, petting her hair. "Might as well, but then again Helga G. Pataki was never one whose emotions were hard to read." He said, looking down at her and sticking his tongue out. Helga sat up for a second, jokingly patting his face like she was slapping him. Arnold laughed, taking her wrist in his hands to keep her at bay before leaning down and kissing her.

"Go to sleep." He said, pulling up the covers a little bit more over them.

Helga shuffled a little in the bed, getting comfortable. Arnold's hand stop moving through her hair, and she knew he had fallen asleep.

She sighed, staring off into the glass pane above them in thought. She started thinking about who she could've sworn she saw at the carnival earlier tonight. She knew it was just her imagination though, it had to be. There was no way possible that he would show up in Hillwood from Detroit. He had no idea where she was anyways, and she hadn't seen him since she left Detroit, almost five years ago now.

She shook the thoughts from her mind and yawned, she needed to just go to sleep.

Helga woke up to an empty bed next to her; Arnold must've left for the hospital already. She looked at the clock; it was 9:30 in the morning. Oh yeah, he was long by gone now. Maybe she could bring him lunch up to the hospital today since she was off work from the café.

Yeah, that's what she'd do; it'd be a nice surprise for him. She took a shower, got dressed, and cleaned up the house a little bit before finished up getting ready. She put on the dress that Arnold had gotten for her while they were in Detroit and slipped on her nice wedges that she had bought a few weeks ago also. She wanted to look at least a little presentable at Arnold's work place…seeing as every other time she was in there she was either a patient or in "comfy clothes" for a check-up.

She grabbed her little satchel from the coat rack and stuffed her phone in it with some of her cash before walking out the front door. She looked at the time, it was almost noon, and perfect timing since his lunch break would be soon. She stopped by the small sub shop on the corner near the hospital and got their lunch, heading to the hospital.

She walked in the front door and walked over to the front desk.

"Well don't you look nice today sweetie?" Dawn cooed from behind the front desk. Helga smiled, leaning on the counter.

"Hey there Dawn, thanks. Any idea where Arnoldo is?" She smiled, knowing Dawn knew exactly who she was talking about.

Dawn just laughed, shaking her head. "I swear child you have the least endearing nicknames for that boy." She teased. "But he's in the Emergency Room today so you can't go up, but I'll page him down okay?" She said, pressing a button on the intercom.

Helga smiled, backing up. "Thanks Dawn."

Dawn just nodded before speaking into the microphone. "Arnold Shortman you have a visitor at the front desk. Arnold Shortman you have a visitor at the front desk." She looked back up at Helga. "He'll be her in just a second sweetheart, if you want to sit while you wait feel free." She smiled.

Helga nodded, plopping down in the visitor's chair. Even though she was dressed nice, she was still Helga, so properly sitting down still wasn't her thing. She set the bag with their subs on her lap while she waited for Arnold.

After a few minutes Arnold came around the corner and went over to the front desk to Dawn, asking who the visitor was. Dawn just rolled her eyes and pointed to Helga, who was watching him with an amused smirk on her face. Arnold turned around and saw Helga and smiled, walking over to her. "Hey." He said as she stood up.

Helga smiled, handing him the bag with their lunch it. "Hey. Figured since I was off I'd bring you lunch."

Arnold took the bag, looking over to the small little courtyard they had at the hospital. "Let's eat at the picnic table out there." He said, walking over to the door, Helga following.

Helga was a little disappointed that Arnold didn't say anything about the dress, but kept quiet about it. They sat down at the picnic table and started eating.

"So," Helga said, taking another bite of her sandwich. "How's the hospital today?"

Arnold wiped his mouth with his napkin before speaking. "It's pretty slow right now; there haven't been any critically injured people in so the ER is pretty slow today. Not that I'm complaining, because I'll hopefully get off early enough to take you out to dinner tonight." He smiled. "Or we can always watch a movie."

Helga shrugged. "I think we've spent enough money this week with dinner the other night and the carnival last night." She took another bite of her sandwich.

Arnold nodded. "That's true, plus as long as it's with you we could go pick trash for all I care." He winked.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Okay cheese ball." She laughed.

Arnold chuckled before finishing up his sub. "Thank you for bringing lunch baby. It was a nice surprise." He said, standing up and taking Helga's trash and putting it in the bag, tossing it into the nearby trash can. They walked back into the hospital and Arnold hugged her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you tonight when I get off. I love you."

Helga smiled, disappointed again that he _still_ hadn't seemed to notice her dress. "Yeah, love you too." She said before turning to leave the hospital.

"And Helga?" Arnold called after her.

Helga stopped and turned around, looking at Arnold.

"You look beautiful." He said, smiling and winking before turning and heading down the hallway and back to the ER.

Helga's face flushed before she smiled and hustled out of the hospital before anyone saw her face get red. She fumbled for her phone out of her satchel and saw a text from Phoebe. She texted back quickly, telling her about lunch and the carnival last night. She watched her phone's screen blink, showing her message sent and she smiled, life was good. And for once, it was calm. No drama, no death, nothing.

Complete bliss. She stuck her phone back in her satchel and headed back to the boarding house. Not noticing the guy who had seemed to of been watching her walk out of the hospital.

**_*how nice, finally I could write a pleasant chapter. (: but wait, who's the guy Helga thought she saw at the carnival? And who was watching her leave the hospital? WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?! Anyways, hope you guys enjoy a nice chapter. the next one will be up by next Saturday hopefully so keep on the look out for it (: as always, leave questions, comments, and reviews for me!*_**


	17. Chapter 17: I'm Baaaack

Helga got home to the boarding house and tossed her satchel to the floor next to the front door. Today was nice, nothing too special, but still nice.

She headed upstairs and change into more comfortable clothes. Sure, she really liked that dress, but this was Helga, and she also really liked sweatpants and t-shirts. She saw it was only around 2:30, so she decided to take a nap until Arnold got back from the hospital.

Helga turned on tv, pressed the remote for the couch to flip out, and plopped down comfortably with her blanket. Some cheesy sci-fi movie was on; it'd have to do since nothing else of remote interest was on either. She sprawled out onto the couch and started to doze off.

Arnold left the hospital around 4, waving goodbye to Dawn and heading back home. He opened up the door and looked for Helga downstairs. No sign of her. She must be upstairs. He trudged up the stairs and opened the door to their room. He saw Helga sprawled out on the couch, snoring.

He laughed, shaking his head. Leave it to Helga to take a nap on her day off.

He knelt down next to her. "Helga." He gently shook her shoulder. Bad idea, Helga flung up, smacking Arnold in the face. Arnold fell back, holding his nose.

"Jesus Football Head!" She hopped off the couch, kneeling next to Arnold to check on him. "Why'd you sneak up on me like that?"

Arnold's nose started bleeding. "Sneak up on you?! I said you name and _touched_ your shoulder!" He stood up, pinching the bridge of his nose and grabbing a tissue.

Helga stood up; snatching all of the tissues she could in her hands. "Sit on the couch Football Head." She ordered. He slowly stood up, trying not to let blood drip and sat down on the couch.

Helga pulled his hand away from his nose and pinched it herself, him wincing at the touch. "Oh don't be a sissy. I didn't break your nose." She said, clearly annoyed.

Arnold sighed, giving up on his own first aid, seeing as Helga clearly was taking charge. She ripped a few bits of the tissues in her hand and stuck them up Arnold's nostrils and he jumped back in surprise. "Oh stop it." She rolled her eyes. "It's what I used to do when I'd get nose bleeds."

Arnold sighed, shaking his head once Helga was finished sticking tissues up his nose. "Welcome home honey; let me show you how happy I am to see you by a nice punch to the face." He said, the sentence dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah yeah," She said, standing up and walking to the trash can. "Next time I'll do it on purpose if you don't watch it." She tossed the bloody tissues into the trash and walked back over to Arnold, leaning over him. Arnold leaned back a bit when she got close before she closed the gap and gave Arnold a long peck. "Welcome home babe." She teased, sticking her tongue out at him. "Sorry I hit you." She said and stood back up.

Arnold grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him and gave her a long, sweet kiss before releasing her hand again and standing up. "I'll let it slide this one time." He winked.

Helga simply rolled her eyes, smiling.

"So, what did you want to have for dinner?" Arnold asked, noticing it was almost 5:30.

Helga shrugged. "I'm fine with whatever you want."

Arnold thought for a moment, trying to think of what they had to eat in the house. "Well we could always make spaghetti."

"That sounds fine." Helga said, opening the bedroom door and heading downstairs after Arnold.

They both got to cooking in the kitchen, Arnold working on the noodles while Helga fiddled with the pasta.

They finished up, ate and then headed upstairs to watch a movie.

They sat, cuddling up on the couch. The movie was an older one about a girl whose imaginary friend comes back to help her with her happiness.

"How cheesy." Helga groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Oh Helga come on, it was a good movie." He nudged her.

Helga nudged him back, smiling. "Yeah okay, it was alright." She looked at the clock, yawning. It was almost ten and she was already tired.

"Hey, why don't you head to bed? I'll lie down soon I've just got to finish up some stuff on my computer." Arnold said, turning on the monitor.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea." She said, standing up and folding the blanket she was using and setting it on the floor next to the couch. She went over to her dresser and threw on one of Arnold's oversized t-shirts as her pajamas. It was kind of hot in their room today anyways.

She crawled into bed, pulling the covers up to her chest. She propped her head on her arm as she watched Arnold concentrating on his computer, the screen giving his face a slight glow. She really wanted to ask him what he'd do if he ever met the guy that raped her back in Detroit. She thought it was just her imagination at the carnival, more like hoped. She could've sworn he was there. Not to mention she felt like she was being watched on her way home from the hospital yesterday.

She got goose bumps and shuddered thinking about it. She sighed, might as well ask now.

"Arnold…" She said, trying to figure out how to ask.

"Hm?" He looked away from his computer screen and his eyes met hers. He could tell in her voice and eyes she was troubled.

"Just…hypothetically…what would you do if you ever met my ex from Detroit?"

"The one that raped you?" He quickly asked, still looking at her.

Helga slowly nodded.

Arnold processed the question for a moment before looking back at his computer screen. "I would beat him beyond recognition." He said coldly.

Helga was surprised at his answer. She wasn't expecting that. She got even more goose bumps at his voice in his answer.

"Why ask anyways? I doubt he'd show up in Hillwood." He said, typing on his keyboard.

Helga shrugged. "I was just curious." She lied, but she didn't want him to worry about it. He had too much going on. Plus, she wasn't even sure if she really saw him anyways.

"Are you almost done on there?" Helga asked impatiently. She wanted him to come to bed so she could snuggle up with him and just fall asleep.

"I'm getting off now." He said, smiling at how impatient she was for him to come to bed. He shut off his monitor and changed into a pair of his sweat pants and no shirt. He lay down next to Helga in the bed and yawned. Helga lay down on his chest, stretching out.

"You're warm." She said, muffled into his chest.

Arnold smoothed her hair back. "I hope that's a good thing." He chuckled.

"Mhm." Helga kissed his chest. She untied the strings on his sweatpants and moved them down an inch. Arnold looked at her, a little surprised. Helga moved up over top of Arnold, kissing him as she did.

"I'm ready Arnold…" She said, looking down at him, lust in her eyes.

Arnold was still a little surprised, but quickly leaned up, kissing her fiercely before slowly working her out of his t-shirt.

Arnold yawned, waking up before Helga as usual. He gently nudged Helga off of his chest and pulled the covers back over her, getting up to get ready for the day at the hospital. He got dressed, kissed Helga on the forehead, and headed out the door. He decided to walk today, it was nice out and he was in a great mood.

He and Helga were going great for almost 2 months now. They started having sex again not too long ago also, which Arnold didn't seem to mind. They hadn't done anything since the miscarriage, and once Helga opened back up, it made him happy that she was finally ready to let that part go.

Every now and again though, he would think about the question Helga asked him a while ago about if her ex showed up. It was such a random, odd question for her to ask out of the blue like that. He shrugged it off, he was probably overthinking it.

How would he even find Helga after so long? And would he really search for _five_ years for her? He shook his thoughts away; there was no way he'd show up. Still, it was odd that she asked.

He sighed when he saw he was finally up to the hospital doors. He needed to stop thinking about it. He headed inside to start his day.

Helga woke up around 9:30 in the morning; she had to work at 11 so it was plenty of time to get ready. She yawned, stretching before sleepily trudging around in her slippers in their room. Where was her uniform? Oh yeah, Arnold hung it up the other day for her. She took it off the hanger and tossed it on the bed, heading down to the bathroom to brush her teeth first. She finished up and went back upstairs.

She changed, put on some makeup, threw her hair up in a messy bun, and headed back downstairs to grab a fruit bar for breakfast before heading out the door. She was messing with her phone, texting Phoebe before she walked into the café. She had noticed someone standing next to the entrance out of the corner of her eye, but thought nothing of it as she went inside.

About an hour into her shift, she was handing someone there order when she noticed that same guy from earlier watching her. She couldn't for the life of her see his face; he had some baseball cap on that was shrouding it.

She shrugged it off, just another creep probably, he'll leave eventually. A few minutes later, she glanced back up and she saw he wasn't there anymore. Yepp, it was definitely just another creep.

She clocked out from the café around 7:30. It was Friday, so the store had stayed open later. She sent Arnold a text, saying she'd be home shortly. She knew he would be leaving the hospital around 8:30 and wouldn't see it until he was off anyways, but he insisted on her letting him know when she was leaving work, for her own safety. She thought it was silly, but she did it for him.

She walked out of the café, waving to one of her coworkers on her way out. She turned the corner, heading towards the boarding house, texting Phoebe as she walked.

"Helga? Helga Pataki?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She knew that voice.

She slowly turned, praying it wasn't who she thought it was. She turned to see Jason, her ex-boyfriend from Detroit standing in front of her. Her heart dropped into her stomach. "What are you doing here Jason?" She asked, almost horrified.

Jason chuckled menacingly, taking a step forward. Helga in turn, took a step back. "I just came to visit. Wanted to see how you've been since you left me." He said, looking up at her.

She took another step back. "Well, you came and you saw, now leave Jason. I can't believe you'd even show your face after what you did to me." She said, trying to remain calm, but deep down she was scared of him. She knew how overpowering he could be, and clearly he hadn't cut down on going to the gym at all.

"Oh come on now Helga…" He dug in his pocket, pulling out a small pistol. Helga jumped, gasping in fear. "Is that any way to talk to an old friend?" He said, a crooked smile playing across his lips.

Helga looked around frantically, how was no one seeing this? That was when she realized he was concealing the gun in his side jacket, just so that she could see it and no one else. Plus, the sun had already almost finished setting. The streets were pretty much empty right now.

She silently cursed at herself. She really should've taken Arnold's pestering about her safety more seriously. "Now…we could do this the easy way…" He waved his free hand. "…or the hard way." He gestured to the gun in his other hand, looking back at Helga. "Your choice. Either way, you're coming with me."

Helga felt the goose bumps on her arms starting to form. Her eyes scanned her surroundings for a moment, not moving her head as she did. "Don't bother Helga." He said, shaking his head in warning. "I know you better than to let you just run." He said, forcefully grabbing her and snatching her cell phone from her hand. She gasped, cringing from his strong hands. He looked at the phone, then back at her. "Can't have you calling that boyfriend of yours." He chuckled, stuffing the iPhone in his pocket.

"Now…let's go for a walk, shall we?" He said, yanking her arm forward and practically dragging her through the city, he seemed to be heading for the Hillwood Park. They had completely revamped it since Arnold and Helga were kids. It was a lot bigger now, more trees, more places to be alone…

_Oh shit…_

Helga felt her adrenaline start pumping. Her breathing became heavy. _He's going to kill me!_

Jason dragged her along, humming an eerie song in the silence between them.

Helga was trying to even out her breathing, so that Jason wouldn't know she was onto his plan. She needed to escape, soon. She winced when his grip grew even tighter around her wrist, but kept quiet. He had a gun, and she had…what? 'Ol Betsy? Yeah right, that would put up a good fight for like ten whole seconds.

She sighed; maybe she should've taken those self-defense classes Arnold offered to pay for. She cursed herself now for not taking him up on that offer.

Deep in her thoughts, the silence was broken by the familiar cheesy love song ring from her iPhone that chimed in Jason's pocket. Helga gasped, relief washing over her. She knew that ringtone.

_Arnold's calling!_

**_*here it is guys! enjoy! gotta keep it short and sweet today, wanted to post it before leaving for work so you guys enjoy! much love! thanks everyone for reading! (: as always, you know what to do (;*_**


	18. Chapter 18: Is this the End?

Jason stopped in his tracks, tightening his grip even more on Helga's wrist. She stared at his pocket, her phone's ringtone ending, followed by a short beep, letting her know she had a missed call. Her eyes shot up to the back of Jason's head. He wasn't looking at her, probably figuring out what to do about the phone. It started ringing again, cracking the icy silence between them and they both jumped.

"He's going to get suspicious if I don't answer the second time Jason…." She tried to reason with him, like that was even possible with this psychopath. Jason's arm began to shake in frustration, her entire forearm feeling the reverberation of it. Finally, he seemed to show a small sign of sanity when he took his hand away from his gun and reached for her phone in his pocket.

"You tell him anything…and I swear to God I will kill you where you fucking stand." He said, handing her the phone roughly, his hand instantly shooting back to his gun with his grip never loosening on her wrist.

Helga shakily answered the phone, trying to figure out what to say to give him an idea that she was in danger. "Hey honey…"

_Honey?_ What? Helga _never_ answered the phone like that.

"Hey baby. I'm getting ready to leave the hospital. Are you home yet?" Arnold asked, leaning against the front desk.

There was silence on Helga's end. "Well…no actually. I ran into an _old friend_ _from Detroit._" She emphasized the last bit, hoping he would get the hint.

Arnold's eyebrow rose, something wasn't right here. "Uh…alright." He said, feeling something wrong in his gut about this.

"Yeah, we're catching up at one of our old spots from when we were kids." She said, her voice almost quivering while Jason watched her every move, his gun protruding from his coat pocket, a dark reminder of what were to happen if she slipped up.

"Wait…when you were kids? From Detroit? Helga you're not making any sense." He said; worry starting to clearly become apparent in his voice.

Jason mouthed for her to hurry it up. He was clearly becoming impatient with her.

"Alright well I gotta go Arnold, love ya bye!" She hung up quickly, and Jason snatched her phone away from her as soon as she pulled it away from her ear, making her jump.

Arnold slowly moved his phone away from his ear, staring at it in his hand. Why would she answer the phone like that so randomly? An old friend from Detroit? She didn't talk about anyone you would even remotely consider her "friend." Except…

Shit.

Arnold immediately took off running out of the front door, fumbling for the car keys. He needed to get to Gerald and Phoebe's, he needed help.

Gerald heard the front door being banged on, it sounded like the entire apartment would be brought down.

"Alright, alright! Damn! I heard you the first twenty times!" He angrily stormed to the front door, opening it and about to give whatever jackass was banging on the door a piece of his mind.

"Look ma-" Gerald stopped, seeing his best friend wheezing, clinging to the door frame.

"What the _hell _man?!" He yelled, shocked as Arnold charged into the apartment.

"He's got her Gerald." He wheezed, trying not to panic.

"Whoa…what? Who's got who? I'm lost Arnold." Gerald said, slowly inching towards his clearly disturbed friend.

"Helga's ex-boyfriend…I don't know how, or why. But the guy from Detroit found her." Arnold bent over, holding himself up by his hands on his knees as he tried to breathe.

"What? How do you know?" Gerald was clearly surprised.

"I called Helga not too long ago, and she was acting weird on the phone," He took a deep breath. "She said she was with an old friend from Detroit, but she never mentioned anyone other than that bastard. Ever."

Gerald thought for a moment. "Hey man…maybe it really is just an old friend-"

"_NO."_ Arnold's body seized up and Gerald jumped back, the look Arnold was giving him genuinely freaked him out. "I know he has her. Her tone, everything on the phone is a clear sign of distress. I need to find her." He looked around for Phoebe. "I need both of yours help."

Gerald sighed, putting his hands on his hips, looking down. "Alright man, you're pretty adamant about this." He walked into the hallway. "Let me get Phoebe."

Gerald told Phoebe the news and within a split second Phoebe came tearing around the corner, all three of them bolting out of the front door or the apartment.

"Where do you think she is Arnold?" Gerald asked, realizing they had no idea where they were going.

Arnold turned on the car, smacking his head on the steering wheel. "I don't know…I have no idea how to find out. We're just gonna have to drive."

"No need." Phoebe squeaked from the backseat, the glow of her phone lighting up her face. She was pressing all over the screen with her phone stylus. "I'm tracking her phone now. Whoever has her didn't trash her phone." After another agonizing, seemingly long second, Phoebe's phone pinged. "She's at the new Hillwood Park."

Arnold didn't need to hear anymore. He slammed his foot on the gas, the tires squealing as they tore out of the parking space, Gerald and Phoebe's heads both smacking their headboards on the seat.

The fire in Arnold's eyes surprised Gerald as he stared at his lifelong friend. He really did love Helga, and you could see that now.

Helga's wrist was starting to burn from Jason's grip. She had the sensation of almost fire creeping up her skin as he continued to drag her through the park. They were going deeper and deeper into the park. How damn big could a community park be? Apparently big enough to hide a soon-to-be dead body.

Shit, she needed to stop thinking like that; it definitely wasn't helping her anxiety in this situation.

Suddenly, Jason stopped next to a hefty set of tree line, letting go of Helga's wrist. She pulled it to her chest, gingerly rubbing it with her free hand. Ow.

Suddenly, Jason turned around and clocked her in the face with his pistol. There was an eerie crack as Helga's head made contact with the sidewalk. Her vision was so blurry as she watched the now blob-like figure of Jason inch towards her. She struggled to at least try to move away from him. She had to get away, but right now she didn't know the difference between up or down.

She whimpered when Jason's boot was suddenly pressing down on her cheek. "You know Helga…We could've been great…" He said, pressing almost all of his weight on his foot that was on her face. "…but you went and fucked it up when you left Detroit…"

She heard the click of the pistol as he switched off the safety, the cold barrel pressing down on her temple now. She was beginning to lose hope that Arnold would show.

Arnold slammed on the brakes, the car flying into the empty park parking lot. The car was hardly stopped before he jumped out and began running through the park, Gerald and Phoebe in tow. They were all praying they weren't too late. None of them ever really had to deal with a mad man of this proportion. Probably the closest was stoop kid when they were all young, but this was no stoop kid, this was a completely different level of a mental fuck. This was a psycho, a psycho that had Helga.

_Helga…_

Arnold felt like he could vomit from his anxiety, no sign of Helga. They had been searching for almost fifteen minutes throughout the park.

He was on the verge of mental breakdown. He had to find Helga, NOW.

Suddenly, he heard a quiet voice. Gerald and Phoebe ran around the corner, about to say something but Arnold shushed them, holding up his hand to silence them.

_There._

He charged forward as quiet as he could, peeking through the tree line to see a man standing over a blonde woman, his boot pressing on her face. He heard a familiar groan coming from the woman on the ground. It was Helga for sure.

Helga groaned, she could've sworn she heard what sounded like a pop in her head as he put down even more weight onto her cheek with his boot. She felt a thick liquid crawling down her face. She was bleeding. His boot was cutting so far into her face that it was tearing at her skin.

The barrel of the gun was still resting on her cheek and he bent over, her vision still a blurry mess. She felt like she was about to faint, or maybe it was the fact that she was about to die that was clouding her eyes. She wasn't so sure. She sighed, giving up. What could she do? She was helpless, her body begging to succumb to unconsciousness.

"And that shitty little man of yours won't be here to watch this…how sad." Jason almost whispered, his hand easing onto the trigger.

Helga's eyes became even more blurred as she began to cry. _Oh Arnold…I'm sorry…_

Suddenly, the weight of Jason's boot and the cold bite of the barrel's metal was lifted from her face abruptly. She heard a surprised grunt come from Jason.

There was a loud thud a few feet from her. Her blurry vision faded in and out to see a blonde mess of hair on top of Jason. There was yelling. It sounded like Arnold. There were a lot of loud cracking noises after that. More yelling. Her vision was fading fast, where was Arnold? She struggled to stay conscious, but she finally slipped away, into a painless, blissful sleep. Phoebe tended to Helga, trying to coax her from her unconsciousness as Arnold and Gerald preoccupied themselves with Jason.

Arnold lost count of how many times his fists connected with Jason's face. He sat over top of him, straddling over his chest as he beat him to a bloody, unrecognizable pulp.

"Arnold. ARNOLD!" Gerald was begging, trying to pry his friend off of Jason. Arnold hadn't even noticed him there.

_"You son of a bitch!"_ Arnold growled, his hands wrapping around Jason's neck, tightening. "I should fucking kill you where you sit you piece of shit!" He was losing control of himself. His anger, fear, everything he had been feeling the past two hours was suddenly flooding into these short moments, his anger for what this man had done to Helga in Detroit, and now, was all hitting him at once. And Arnold was no small man anymore; he could hold his own in a fight. And this fight he clearly had the upper hand.

"ARNOLD! STOP!" Gerald begged, finally yanking Arnold off of Jason. "You've done enough man! Stop!" He held his friend back, who was trying to get back to the piece of trash that was sprawled out, a bloody mess on the sidewalk.

Jason coughed, blood spitting from his mouth.

Arnold's breathing hitched when his head cleared, what had he just done? He just beat a man beyond recognition. He'd never lost control like that. He was just about to feel remorse until he heard a spine tingling chuckle rack through Jason.

"You and that bitch deserve each other…" He rasped. Neither Arnold nor Gerald had noticed Jason's hand had managed to inch its way to the pistol and he had it concealed on the other side of it.

Arnold shot up to begin hitting him again, but a loud gunshot rang out through the park.

The quietness after that moment seemed to drag on for hours. Who was shot?

Arnold stood there, clearly in shock. He had been hit with the blood spatter.

Jason's head was blasted wide open, the scene too grim to even describe.

"Oh my goodness!" Phoebe squeaked, holding Helga's head in her arms. She had to avert her eyes from the scene.

Gerald covered his mouth; he thought he was going to throw up. "I'm gonna go call 911." He choked, his hand still over his mouth.

Arnold stood there, staring at Jason's now lifeless body. He was dead, that was for sure. Shot himself right in the head. Arnold hadn't realized how heavily he was breathing. He really thought Jason had shot him, his life flashed in front of him when the shot rang out.

The EMS got there shortly, zipping Jason's body in a morgue bag and hoisting it into the back of the van. The police spoke to Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald, asking them what had happened. They had explained to them that Helga had been kidnapped by Jason.

"Well, it seems to me this is a pretty open and shut case, but we also need to debrief Helga when she comes to. Have her call the department in the morning so we can schedule an interview." Office Vander handed Arnold his card. "Thank you officer." Arnold said, sticking it in his pocket.

Helga was semi-conscious, but not enough to speak to an officer. She had to of asked them four or five times where she was, and what happened to Jason, they felt it best to discuss it with her when she woke up the next morning. Arnold dropped Phoebe and Gerald off at their apartment, heading to the boarding house. Helga was laid out in the backseat, sound asleep, a big gauze wrap on her head from the blow she took and the scratches from Jason's boot.

Arnold kept peeking at her in the rearview mirror, making sure she was still there. He sighed with relief every time he saw her sound asleep in the back.

He pulled up to the boarding house and heaved Helga out of the back of the car, carrying her up the stairs as carefully as he could. He trudged up to their room, laying Helga on the bed, to which she quickly hogged up. Arnold shook his head, even after an ordeal like tonight she was the same. He decided he'd take the couch. He flipped it out, lying down. He hadn't realized how tired he really was until his head hit the pillow. He yawned, watching Helga for a few moments before his eyes shut.

Helga woke up before Arnold, groaning as she sat up in the bed. She touched her forehead, her hand jerking away when she felt the fabric of the gauze on her head. Why was she wrapped up?

_Oh…_

That was when she remembered last night. Her body shuddered, remembering how close she truly was to death last night. Her skin crawled when she recollected the barrel of the pistol sitting on her face. She rubbed her arms before she looked to the side of her, noticing Arnold wasn't in the bed. Her eyes searched the room before finally resting on the couch; a soundly sleeping Arnold sprawled across it.

She shouldn't wake him, but she wanted to. She shifted off the bed, walking over to the couch.

She smoothed his hair back from his face, instantly jolting him from his sleep. He shot up, sleepy eyes meeting Helga's.

"Easy Football Head! It's just me!" She said in surprise at how quick he jumped up.

Suddenly, she was yanked onto the couch in Arnold's arms.

"Whoa Football Head! You're grabby this morning!" She said, a little annoyed.

She heard what sounded like a muffled sniffle.

"Arnoldo? What's the matter with you?"

Arnold didn't look at her, just tightened his arms around her.

"_Arnold_!" She said, annoyed, she wiggled her hands free of his grip and yanked his face up to meet hers. That was when she saw it.

Arnold was crying.

"…Arnold…?" Helga's thumbs instinctively rubbed away his tears. He stared at her face, as if trying to remind himself she was really here. He pulled her forward, invading her face with hungry, relief filled kisses.

"Smifnold!" She said, her voice muffled from Arnold's mouth against hers. She pulled away, looking at him.

He was still crying, he pulled her into a tight hug again, inhaling the scent from her hair.

"I thought I was going to lose you last night…" He breathed.

Helga's skin got goose bumps at his words.

"I was so scared…when I had pieced together what you were telling me on the phone…" She felt his entire body shudder at the thought.

"Hey…" Helga cooed, wiping his eyes again. "I'm okay…" She said, trying to calm him down.

Arnold sighed, almost like he didn't believe her. He pulled her into another tight embrace.

"Besides…" She added. "Jason's in jail now, right?"

Arnold didn't say anything.

"…_Right?"_ She urged an answer.

"Jason's dead Helga."

Helga's heart dropped. "What?" She didn't believe it.

Arnold nodded, his eyes searching hers. "He shot himself after we found you."

"And after I beat the shit out of him." Arnold added.

Helga's eyes widened. "You what?"

Arnold gauged her reaction. "I beat him to a pulp Helga. After we found you, I just…I lost control."

Helga didn't respond. She was so surprised. But, at the same time, he did tell he'd do that if he ever met him.

"I was so scared that we were too late" He breathed. He kissed her again, his hands inching up her back.

He moved to her neck, Helga craning it to give him more access. Helga was sore, but she knew that Arnold needed this as a reassurance.

Her hands took hold of his hair as his kisses turned into gentle love bites. "I'm here Arnold…"

"I'm here…"


	19. Chapter 19: Surprise!

Helga woke up the next morning, her head throbbing.

She touched her temple, groaning before Arnold shot up in bed.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" He spat out.

Helga rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Football Head, my head just hurts." She said, gently rubbing her forehead.

Arnold reached for some pain killers on the nightstand and handed them to her. She popped them both in her mouth and jerked her head back, swallowing the pills.

Arnold watched her. "You know I really wish you'd drink something when you took pills." He said, crawling out of bed and going to change. Helga rolled her eyes.

"They go down just the same." She said also standing.

"You need to call officer Vander." He said, ignoring her last sentence. "You still need to speak to him about yesterday." Arnold roughly threw his shirt on, getting aggravated at just the thought of yesterday's events.

Helga noticed his tense wrists and walked over to him, rubbing his arms in comfort. "Calm down. I'll go call him now." She picked her cell phone up off the dresser and called officer Vander, who informed her that she could come whenever it was convenient. Helga decided it'd be best to do now and get it out of the way. She just wanted to forget…

Arnold and Helga walked to the station. Helga didn't really want to be cooked up in the car; she felt the fresh air would help her headache.

Officer Vander greeted them almost as soon as they walked in the front door. He firmly shook Arnold and Helga's hands. "Good morning, to both of you. You're looking well Ms. Pataki."

Helga nodded. "Thanks. Head still hurts." She said, lightly tapping her temple.

He nodded in response before gesturing down the hall. "Shall we?"

Arnold and Helga walked right behind him. He opened the door, allowing Helga in, but stopped Arnold.

"We can't have you in the room during the debrief, but you're more than welcome to watch behind the one way window." Officer Vander said, much to Arnold's displeasure. "It's protocol, sorry."

Arnold just nodded, not picking a fight with the officer.

Arnold took his place behind the window, watching with his arms crossed.

"Now Ms. Pataki…" Officer Vander sat down across from her. "Will you please just start from the beginning please?"

Helga took a deep breath, trying to recollect everything to the smallest detail. She told him about when he took her hostage from work, marching her to the park.

Arnold felt himself grinding his teeth in anger. It made him mad hearing her side of the story. He could sense the fear in her voice, of the unknown fate that she was facing.

Helga continued to talk about when she realized why he took her to the park, adding that he must've planned it for a while since he was so sure of where to go.

Arnold tightened his arms.

"That was when he hit me…hard as hell on my head and I smacked the pavement. The bastard."

"Ms. Pataki." Officer Vander warned.

"…Sorry. I started to feel like I was going to pass out, and he started pushing all of his weight on my face with his boot. And, right before he pulled the trigger…"  
Arnold was about to walk out of the room, he really didn't want to hear anymore.

"That was when Arnold came out of nowhere and tackled him." She said, amazed.

Arnold stopped, realizing how happy she truly was that he arrived then. He turned to look at his love through the window, her eyes gleaming when she spoke of Arnold's rescue.

She may never admit it, but Arnold will always bring a life into her that anyone who had a mind would notice. Arnold felt himself smiling.

Officer Vander took a few more notes, before standing. "Thank you Ms. Pataki, I think I have everything I need for my paperwork."

He led them out of the hall and to the front of the building. "Thank you both for being so cooperative." He shook their hands again. "I hope if we see each other again it won't be under terms such as these." He disappeared back down the hallway.

Arnold and Helga walked outside, heading home in silence.

Helga looked at Arnold from the corner of her eye, gauging his expression.

He noticed her looking at him and gently took her hand in his, still walking.

Helga felt butterflies in her stomach. It was so funny to her, no matter how many times this man grabbed her hand, or kissed her, or did…other things, she still felt like a giddy child. The same child hiding behind dumpsters, talking to her locket when her love wasn't looking.

She laughed to herself.

"What's so funny?" Arnold smirked, looking down at her.

"Nothing." She laughed again. "I was just remembering when we were kids. My locket."

"Locket?" Arnold's curiosity was peaked.

Helga turned to look at him quickly. "I _know_ I told you about my locket."

Arnold shook his head. "No, no you didn't. But please, feel free to now." His eyebrow rose.

Helga sighed, now she was embarrassed. She thought he already knew. "When we were kids, I used to have a locket with your picture in it that I always wore tucked under my shirt." She turned beet red.

She heard a snicker coming from Arnold. "Are you _laughing?!_"

Arnold released her hand, propping his arms on his knees while he flat out busted into a fury of laughter. "I'm sorry Helga, but that's hilarious!"

She punched him, hard. "Why the hell is that funny?!"

"I don't know!" He held up a hand, blocking a second punch. "It just is!" He wiped his eye, catching a falling tear from his laughing fit. "I'm sorry. I won't laugh anymore."

Helga glared at him, watching him. The side of his mouth twitched, a crooked smile creeping across his face before he started laughing again.

"That's it!" She stormed off, Arnold in tow. "I'm locking you out of the damn house!" She raged, a still laughing Arnold chasing behind.

_A few weeks later…_

"You said everything's in place Gerald? Awesome! Keep me posted man!" Arnold hung up the phone just as Helga walked in the room; he'd seemed to have been doing that a lot lately, hanging up when she showed up.

"Who was that?" She asked, suspicious.

"Oh, it was just Gerald catching up." He said, tossing his phone on the bed. "How was work babe?" He turned back to her.

Helga plopped down on the couch, sighing. "Tiring. We had customers coming out the ass today."

Arnold rolled her eyes, still such curt language. Like that'd ever change.

"Well get dressed, wear that nice dress I bought you in Detroit. We're going out to dinner tonight for your birthday." He said, walking to the dresser. It was already 5:15. Everyone would be there around…Gerald said 7:30 right? Yeah, 7:30.

Helga eyeballed him, suspicious. "…okay. This isn't some scheme for a party is it?"

Arnold scoffed. "Please, I'd never throw you a party here."

Helga sighed with relief. "Good. I'll just jump in the shower and then change." She headed downstairs.

Arnold watched her leave before his phone pinged and he checked the text from Gerald.

_"Everything's ready. See you at 7:30!"_

Arnold smiled, not feeling the need to reply. He got dressed, putting on a nice pair of dress pants and a blue dress shirt, Helga's favorite.

Helga was back upstairs in no time, hair already blow dried and curled. She threw on the dress and at 6:30 they were out the door.

Much to Helga's displeasure, Arnold insisted that they walk, to "get fresh air." But she didn't know that Arnold was really just trying to stall for time.

At 7:30 on the nose, they arrived at the restaurant.

They walked in and there were no lights on, it was pitch black.

"What the hell?" She took Arnold's arm to make sure he was still there. "Why are all the damn lights off?!"

Suddenly, the lights switched on.

_"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HELGA!" _

Helga was suddenly drowning in confetti. "What the hell?" She looked around to see all of their childhood friends standing around, smiling.

Helga was stunned. Some of these people she hadn't seen in over ten years. Even the doctors from Arnold's hospital were there, and her coworkers. And was that Officer Vander over there too?

"Oh my God…" She covered her mouth in surprise.

"Is that all you have to say?" Arnold laughed. "It was pretty hard wrangling everyone together!"

Helga's eyes scanned the room. _Everyone_ was here. People from high school, middle school, even kids from P.S. 118. She was speechless.

Everyone started laughing. They all swarmed her, exchanging hugs and warm wishes.

Helga had finally snapped out of it and had begun chatting with everyone, catching up with them. When they asked where she'd gone, she told them Detroit and left it at that. She chose to save them the gory details.

Suddenly, a loud clanging rang out and everyone's attention turned to Arnold, who was standing up on a chair, tapping a wine glass with a fork. "I know everyone's a little busy with conversations, but I'd appreciate everyone's attention for just a moment." His voice rang out and there was dead silence.

"I think it's safe to say when Helga and I were kids we pretty much hated each other."

Laughs rang out in the room.

"But," He continued. "As we got older, we ended up developing a friendship throughout middle school and the first year of high school."  
"And…" He said, trying to figure out the words to say. "When Helga moved, it felt like there was a hole in my heart; I felt an emptiness that seemed like it would never be filled. Losing my grandparents probably didn't help but that's beyond the point." He looked at Helga, who was staring at him.

"Then, Helga came back, and under certain circumstances, came to live in my house with me. And that's where I realized the hole that I had felt when she left was filled because of her return to my life."

A loud set of "awes" rang out in the room and he noticed Helga's face flush.

"With that…" He pointed the fork he was still holding in his hand towards Helga.

"This woman is the most obnoxious…stubborn…uncooperative…nerve racking…rage inducing…opinionated…"

Helga began glaring at him. Where the hell was he going with this?

Everyone began exchanging nervous glances and whispers to each other, wondering if they were about to witness some sort of break up.

"…beautiful…funny…honest…"

Everyone fell silent again, their eyes resting on either Helga or Arnold.

"Cute…loving…caring…"

He dropped the fork down, hopping off the chair and walking towards Helga. "Sentimental…and best girlfriend any guy would be lucky to have…" She raised an eyebrow, where was he going with this?

"…but unfortunately…the term _girlfriend _just doesn't quite do it for me anymore…"

He stared down at Helga, smiling. She mouthed 'what are you doing?' to which he ignored.

"So with that," He got down on one knee and loud gasps and chatter started buzzing throughout the room. The look on Helga's face was priceless. Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her sockets.

He fished in his pockets for the ring box and pulled it out, the top flipping open.

"Helga Geraldine Pataki," He smiled when she cringed at her middle name still.

"_Marry me?"_

**_*I know...I know...Where the HELL have I been? I mean holy jeepers! And I wish I had a good reason like oh yeah my cat died...or my dog ate my laptop I don't know something stupid like that. But I really don't. I have had the WORST WRITER'S BLOCK EVER this week! I mean really, I was getting frustrated! But hey, I hope I delivered and you guys enjoy this one! (:*_**


	20. Chapter 20: Happily Ever After (?)

Helga was speechless. _Oh shit._

Everyone in the room was silent now, expectant of an answer.

Arnold watched her, knowing how shocked she was and that it might take a second for her to respond.

After a little while longer, Arnold coughed awkwardly. "Uh, Helga?"

She seemed to snap out of it then, her feisty demeanor reappearing on her face before taking the ring and slipping it on, sighing and looking down at Arnold.

"You sure know how to catch a girl off guard Football Head." She said, looking down at him.

Arnold sighed, shaking his head and standing up. "That's a yes I'm guessing?" He chuckled.

Helga held up her finger, wiggling it. "I put the ring on, didn't I?"

Arnold just smiled and kissed her, loud cheers ringing out in the hall.

He pulled away and stayed close to Helga's ear, whispering. "I'm glad you said yes. That would've been embarrassing." He chuckled.

Helga rolled her eyes, gently shoving him away. "You know I was going to say yes, don't even, numb nuts." She stuck her tongue out. "Now let's enjoy the rest of the party."

The party ended and they all headed to their homes, Arnold and Helga holding hands as they strolled through the city.

They decided to take the long way home, pretty much silent the entire way until Helga broke it. "You know…I really wasn't expecting that." She said, looking up at Arnold.

Arnold squeezed her hand. "I felt it was the right time. After all we've been together for almost a year."

Helga snorted. "Yeah, a crazy one."

"You shouldn't talk about yourself like that Helga." He teased, sticking his tongue out.

Helga gave him a swift punch to the gut. "Alright smart ass! I can always change my mind!" She shook her fist playfully.

Arnold held his stomach, laughing. "I love you too Helga." He said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Yeah yeah." She teased.

They finally got home, laughter filling the air between them when Arnold started making fun of her with how big his jacket was on her, he had almost a foot of height over her after all.

They walked inside, tossed everything to the floor and before they knew it they were in a tongue tied wrestling match to the top of the stairs, shutting the door and muffled giggles filling the bedroom.

"Put the flowers over there guys. No, not there! Oh my goodness I'll do it myself." Phoebe's voice squeaked as she gently snatched up the flowers from the men who were assisting her.

Gerald watched, shaking his head. "Man, what am I getting myself into?" He laughed, looking at his ring. Gerald and Phoebe had also decided to tie the knot not too long after Helga and Arnold did. It was funny, they were pretty much switching roles at each other's weddings because Gerald and Phoebe were the maid of honor and best man for Arnold and Helga, and vice versa.

Phoebe scuttled over to Gerald. "Can you make sure they get this stuff done hun? I need to go get ready." She rushed, but before Gerald could answer, she trotted away. "Thank you baby!"

Helga was standing in the full length mirror in her room, staring. She had to admit she looked…nice.

"Absolutely _gorgeous_ doll! I have great taste if I do say so myself." Rhonda bragged, flipping her hair.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yes, thank you Rhonda, for the millionth time."

"And your hair looks amazing! I'm glad I picked my stylist."

Helga balled her fist up, ready to deck her but she kept her cool. Just ignore her. She did have to admit that Rhonda made really good decisions on what she should wear and everything though.

Nadine grabbed the veil and placed it on Helga's head, giving it the full effect.

Phoebe of course was Helga's maid of honor, with Rhonda and Nadine being her bridesmaids. Olga decided against coming, what a shock that her husband said he didn't want to go. Oh well, she was not going to let them ruin this for her. She sighed; she wished Bob would've come. It would've been nice to have been walked down the aisle.

Arnold had called him behind Helga's back, which she was still annoyed about. Bob of course asked who was calling, called him Frank or something, saying _Olga_ was already married. Then he hung up.

The sound of the dressing room door opening drove her from her thoughts. It was Phoebe. She stopped in the doorway.

"Oh Helga! You look absolutely stunning!" She cooed, hugging her friend.

"Alright alright," Helga patted her back. "Enough with the sappy mess, go get dressed Pheebs."

"Dressing!" She disappeared behind the curtain and changed.

Helga turned back in the mirror, staring at her dress. It was pretty intense for her taste. It was a sweetheart neckline with an embroidered top and a simple floor length bottom.

Nadine whistled. "That dress sure does suit you Helga." She smiled.

"…Thanks." Helga said, feeling awkward that eyes were on her, but knowing that there were _way _more sitting in the waiting room.

Arnold was fiddling with his bow tie when Gerald walked in. "Man…" He said, shutting the door. "I love that girl but damn does she hustle away after she asks you something." He shook his head, laughing.

Arnold was busy still fiddling with his bow tie when Gerald walked over and quickly spun him around to help. He took a few seconds to fix it then patted his friend on the back. "You're a bold man marrying Helga G. Pataki." He said, still surprised at it all.

"_Shortman._" Arnold corrected his friend, smiling.

Gerald held his hands up in defense. "Sorry!" He said, chuckling.

Arnold laughed himself. "I'm shaking man, I'm so nervous and I have no clue why."

Gerald rolled his eyes. "You're getting _married_ man, that could be it, genius."

"Oh shut it smart ass." Arnold laughed.

"Let's go get you married before your wife comes and murders me." Gerald teased as they walked out the door.

The two of them stood at the altar, mildly chit chatting. Everyone else was speaking to one another, shaking hands, until sitting down as they were about to start.

Everyone watched as Phoebe, Nadine, and Rhonda walked down the aisle and took their place to the left of the altar.

Then, the music began playing for the bride and everyone stood and turned to the hall.

Arnold felt like he was going to throw up he was so nervous.

Helga took a deep breath, tightening her grip on the bouquet and following their little flower girl (Rhonda's daughter) down the aisle. Everyone was staring at her, her heart was pounding.

She finally made it to the altar after what seemed like hours and stood next to Arnold, smiling at him briefly before looking at the pastor.

The pastor went through the notions, Arnold and Helga said a short set of vows, and then of course the pastor asked the big questions for them.

"Do you, Arnold take Helga to be your wife, your partner in life and your one true love? Will you cherish her friendship and love her today, tomorrow and forever? Will you trust and honor her, laugh with her and cry with her? Will you be faithful through good times and bad, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

Arnold took a deep breath before smiling at Helga. "I do."

The pastor turned to Helga. "And do you, Helga, take Arnold to be your husband, your partner in life and your one true love? Will you cherish his friendship and love him today, tomorrow and forever? Will you trust and honor him, laugh with him and cry with him? Will you be faithful through good times and bad, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

Helga smiled before nodding. "I do."

"Football head." She whispered under her breath, and Arnold just smiled.

_***taaaaaaadaaa! yayy! Here you guys go! the finale! I didn't really want to drag this chapter on, because we all know the sappy ending afterwards. I may or may not post an epilogue, but we'll see how it goes...seeing as i'm ALREADY STARTING THE NEW STORY! That's right! PLEASE GO CHECK IT OUT! For those of you that are following this story, i'm going to post an alert on this story's line letting you all know that the new story is up so you can go look, and of course let me know what you think. the tables are definitely going to be turned in this one, and of course there's going to be drama ensuing and mushy stuff too of course. so until then everyone! let me know how bad you guys want me to do an epilogue, because if none of you want it then I see no point in doing it, so I can concentrate on the new story. thank you so much everyone who has been following this story, it has really meant a lot to me that you all take time out of yours lives to read this and all the support just makes my days. I love you guys! (:***_


	21. We All Need Saving (preview of new story

Arnold stumbled into the living room of the boarding house and plopped down onto the couch, fumbling with the remote to turn on the TV. He finally managed to turn it on and some big MMA fight was going on.

It was just about over and the typical narrator was yelling with every move. Everything on the screen was a blur for him.

_"OH! A NICE HIT! DOWN GOES MARTEL!" _The narrator shouted. A blonde woman was the standing victor who was walking out of the octagon through a screaming crowd.

_"That makes this Helga Pataki's winning streak to 19 and 0! This 22 year old has come out with a vengeance!" _

Arnold's attention was instantly peaked when he heard that name. "…Helga…?" He slurred in surprise.

_"Can't wait to see what she can bring in the championship in just a few short months!"_

Arnold watched closely now as the camera panned to Helga, who was now sitting in the back wiping her face with a towel, breathing heavily and sweating.

Arnold leaned back, bringing the bottle to his lips again and taking a swig.

"Helga Pataki…" He muttered as memories from their childhood flowed into his mind.

_***here's a preview of the new story guys. It's going to be called "We All Need Saving." I'm so excited for this new story! Definitely a different twist on things, so stay tuned and please stay posted with it if you enjoyed this story (: thank you guys again for your support! (p.s., I posted it on this story feed so you could catch a glimpse of it before I post my first chapter. please still feel free to leave a review for the small preview!)* **_


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